PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH Message Board

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

Public Reply Prvt Reply Mark as Last Read File

Previous 10 Next 10 Previous Next

To: MKTBUZZ who started this subject	5/1/2003 1:45:06 PM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Read Replies (2) of 769670

Democrats Won't Block Debt Limit Vote Thu May 1, 2003 12:32 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats will not delay a Senate vote to hike the government's $6.4 trillion debt limit this month, but may try to limit the size of the increase, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle said on Thursday. "We recognize the need to deal with the debt limit. We may not be supportive of the number. But we certainly wouldn't delay consideration of the vote," Daschle told reporters. The Treasury on Tuesday upped the pressure on Congress to raise the limit on government borrowing, saying its current tactics to stay beneath the ceiling and avoid a possible federal default may only work until late May. The House of Representatives last month approved a close to $1 trillion increase in the limit as part of a broader budget package, but the Senate has yet to act. Democrats have sought to tie the rise in the national debt to big new tax cuts President Bush is trying to push through Congress, making the issue a political hot potato. "That juxtaposition ought to be an embarrassment to those advocating tax cuts of the magnitude Republicans are," said Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat. Bush initially proposed a $726 billion tax cut package that would end taxes on corporate dividends and accelerate income tax cuts, arguing it would boost stock prices and create jobs. But Democrats say big new tax cuts would add to record budget deficits and give little stimulus to the weak economy. Congressional Republican leaders are now struggling to shoehorn the proposals into the smaller $550 billion amount approved by the House and $350 billion cleared by the Senate. The Treasury has been using accounting tricks -- including tapping some government retirement funds -- since February to stay below the debt ceiling. In similar episodes in the past, lawmakers have always acted before the limit was breached.

Report TOU Violation

Share This Post

Public Reply Prvt Reply Mark as Last Read File

Previous 10 Next 10 Previous Next