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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: goldworldnet who wrote (373919)	3/19/2003 12:35:57 AM
From: American Spirit	Respond to of 769667

Bushies trying to use war to push through budget busting tax cuts for the rich plans. McCain is against it: "With war against Iraq perhaps hours away and federal deficits zooming toward record territory, Democrats complained that now was not the time for a new round of tax cuts. But by a mostly party-line 56-43 vote, the Senate rejected an amendment by the budget panel's top Democrat, North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad (news, bio, voting record), to block most new tax cuts, and any new spending not related to war or domestic security, until after Bush reveals how much he thinks the war and its aftermath will cost. "We may need every dollar to do what is needed to prevail in this conflict and to respond to the terrorist threat that is expanded by it," Conrad said. Congressional and administration officials have said the White House will ask for up to $90 billion for the costs of combat and other expenses in a request that Bush could send to Capitol Hill as early as Friday. The House and Senate budgets set aside no money for the war; Republicans say Congress will provide the money once details are known. Conrad's other amendment, defeated by 57-42, would have trimmed $1.2 trillion from the $1.3 trillion, 10-year tax cut in the Senate budget and use the money for deficit reduction. The $726 billion economic package is included in that amount. The key fight, though, was expected later over the moderates' effort to shrink Bush's economic plan to $350 billion. The centrists were drafting language with Democrats to state their intention that the money sliced from Bush's tax cut be used only to reduce budget deficits. Republicans were worried the money would be used anyway to boost spending for highways, domestic security and other popular programs. "I'm a deficit hawk. We certainly don't want the balance between what we did and what's in the budget to be spent," said one of the moderates, Sen. George Voinovich (news, bio, voting record), R-Ohio. For Voinovich to win, his group would have to be supported by virtually every Democrat, many of whom prefer a far smaller tax reduction or even none at all. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said there was "near unanimity" among Democrats to support the $350 billion package. Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., said he would vote against any new tax cuts or spending increases unrelated to defense until a war with Iraq is over. Waiting, he said, "is far sounder statesmanship than cutting taxes in the dark or running up spending."