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US Senators to Launch Bush Tax-Cut Nill
Two US senators, one a Republican and the other a Democrat, announced jointly on Monday in Washington they will launch a bill based on President George W. Bush's $1.3 trillion tax-cut plan.
"Right now, our taxes have never been higher. Right now, our surplus has never been greater. To me, it's just common sense you deal with the first by using the second," said Sen. Zell Miller, a Georgia Democrat who is co-sponsoring the bill with Sen. Phil Gramm, a Texas Republican and close Bush ally.
"Remember that old Elvis Presley song, Return to Sender? That's what we want to do right now," Miller added.
Gramm, who said he spoke to Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill before unveiling the plan for the legislation, said the surpluses had become an "anchor" dragging on the economy.
Gramm said the legislation is based on the tax cut proposal that formed the centerpiece of Bush's election campaign, but he acknowledged that it may evolve. He said the size of the tax cut may grow as the legislation moves through the House of Representatives and the Senate, but it is unlikely to shrink.
"This tax cut may actually get larger during the legislative process," Gramm, of Texas, told a news conference.
O'Neill has said Bush plans to reveal his own legislative vision of the tax-cut proposal in about six weeks time.
Gramm chairs the powerful Senate Banking Committee and is also a member of the Finance Committee, which reviews changes in tax laws. Miller is a moderate Democrat who sits on the Banking Committee. He teamed up with Gramm earlier this month as part of a delegation from the banking panel that went to Mexico.
His support might help Bush win over other Democrats. Some key figures like Richard Gephardt, the House Democratic leader, have seemed sympathetic to Bush's idea of broad tax cuts, but winning wide Democratic support won't be easy.
On Monday, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, said members of his party were willing to negotiate but wanted to hold firm on key principles. He outlined ideas for "targeted" tax cuts for education, family-care and retirement savings.
"The bulk of the tax relief must go to middle class working families because they are the people who need tax relief the most, and second we need tax cuts that are affordable and fiscally responsible," Daschle said.
Democrats have criticized Bush's tax-cut as unaffordable, saying it would take too large a chunk out of budget surpluses which are needed to pay down the national debt, shore up Social Security and fund important programs.
Republicans object to Democrats' targeted tax cut approach, contending that it adds complexity to a tax code already in need of streamlining.
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