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Politics : Impeach George W. Bush -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jlallen who wrote (4526)	7/10/2001 9:31:35 AM
From: Don Hurst	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 93284

"Another "fact-free" post. The surplus is now projected to be $200 billion instead of $265 billion. That's still a HUGE surplus, dipwad." Just quoting the "liberal press". Where you getting your "facts" from?...... Bozell or Drudge or Rush? 07/05/2001 - Updated 10:31 PM ET Delays in tax breaks possible By Jonathan Weisman, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — In the face of a growing budget squeeze, the White House signaled Thursday that it will delay plans to win passage of popular tax breaks for charitable giving and energy production. Members of Congress from both parties have told the Bush administration that it would have to accept tax hikes in other areas to pay for the $66 billion in additional tax cuts over the next decade that President Bush is seeking. Although a final decision has not been made, White House Budget Director Mitch Daniels said Bush "is not in the mood" to raise any taxes during an economic slowdown. "We're well aware that reality might dictate some delay in pursuing some of these measures," Daniels said. The pending tax cuts would: • Let taxpayers who do not itemize claim a deduction for charitable giving. • Raise the amount of charitable giving by corporations that can be deducted from business taxes. • Allow penalty-free withdrawals from Individual Retirement Accounts for charity. • Expand tax credits for alternative energy sources, such as the sun, wind and farm waste. • Offer tax breaks for the purchase of fuel-efficient "hybrid" cars, which run on a combination of electricity and gasoline. Congressional aides say lawmakers could probably find tax hikes that would go unnoticed by the public. But Daniels said he would not go that route: "Tax increases tend to slow down the economy no matter how you hide them." Senate aides say that means Bush's tax breaks might have to wait until next year, when a hoped-for economic recovery could increase the surplus. In January, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the 2001 surplus would be $96 billion, not counting funds Congress has pledged to reserve for Social Security and Medicare. But the CBO now says that the 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut enacted in June, along with a slowing economy, has reduced the 2001 surplus to $16 billion. The budget squeeze looks even worse when Bush's proposed $18.4 billion defense spending increase for 2002 and congressional pet projects are included. The House has already tacked $2 billion onto Bush's spending requests for 2002 spending bills so far, and Congress is still a long way from completing a new budget. Just in the last year, the number of home-district projects that lawmakers have slipped into spending bills nearly doubled. And despite Bush's pledge to battle pork barrel spending, lawmakers are seeking a record 18,898 projects for 2002. Examples: a $500,000 research project in Ames, Iowa, to reduce pig-manure odor, and a $1.5 million project to dredge the Dog River in Alabama for recreational boating. Congressional aides warn that all the pressure to hike spending and cut taxes would force the government to dip into Medicare funds in 2002. Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., has summoned Daniels to a hearing Thursday to propose spending cuts or tax increases that would keep the government from tapping Medicare. Senate Finance Committee Republicans already have raised the same challenge to Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, a GOP Senate aide says. House Republicans plan to move ahead with the charity and energy tax breaks this month. But "we don't have a limitless pot of money," says Rep. Jim McCrery, R-La., of the Ways and Means Committee. Front Page News Money Sports Life Tech Weather Shop Terms of service Privacy Policy How to advertise About us © Copyright 2001 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. SPOTLIGHT usatoday.com