CruelVerdad
21st February 2003, 23:52
What do you guys think about this? A lot of money spent in killing people...
----------->
Congress prepares for budget, tax
battles
Iraq confrontation could alter agenda
Friday, February 21, 2003 Posted: 3:01 PM EST (2001 GMT)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The
Republican-led Congress returns
next week poised for battle over
the president's proposed budget
and tax cuts as the rival
Democrats emphasize concerns
about rising deficits and the
potential cost of an invasion of
Iraq.
Republican lawmakers return from the
week-long congressional break hoping to
complete a budget resolution and pass
President Bush's proposed tax cut
package by June. It is an ambitious
schedule that could be upset by a U.S.-led
military confrontation with Iraq.
Bush's proposed budget for next year
includes about $1.5 trillion in tax cuts over
the next decade. Nearly $700 billion of that
is part of an economic package the White House said is needed to create jobs and
lift the sagging stock market.
Bush and his economic team have been traveling around the country trying to sell
the package to the public and bolster support among Republicans. It calls for
accelerating schedule income tax cuts and eliminating taxes paid by investors on
corporate dividends.
Moderate Senate Republicans and some Democrats who supported Bush's $1.35
trillion tax cut in 2001 have expressed skepticism about the latest package,
particularly the dividend tax cut which accounts for more than half the 10-year cost to
the Treasury.
Democrats have launched an attack against the tax cut by arguing it will mostly
benefit the wealthiest Americans while fueling long-term budget deficits that will
eventually lead to higher interest rates and a stagnant economy.
They note the administration is asking Congress for the second time in two years to
raise the nation's debt ceiling and argue it is wrong to cut taxes at a time of potential
war and higher spending needs to address the increased risk of terrorism.
"With the administration preparing for war in Iraq and America on high alert, this is
an extremely dangerous time for our country," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi,
of California, told a meeting of the Democratic National Committee Friday. "It is
indefensible that the Bush administration has not made funding for our first
responders its top priority."
Democrats have been pushing for more federal aid to cash-strapped states and
local communities to help them pay for fire fighters and police, the 'first responders,'
as well rising Medicaid health care costs for the poor.
Additional spending needs
Estimates for the cost of a war with Iraq and subsequent occupation by U.S. forces
have ranged from $50 billion to as high as $200 billion. The administration made no
provisions for the cost of a potential war in its proposed budget for fiscal 2004, which
starts October 1.
Source ------> CNN.com
----------->
Congress prepares for budget, tax
battles
Iraq confrontation could alter agenda
Friday, February 21, 2003 Posted: 3:01 PM EST (2001 GMT)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The
Republican-led Congress returns
next week poised for battle over
the president's proposed budget
and tax cuts as the rival
Democrats emphasize concerns
about rising deficits and the
potential cost of an invasion of
Iraq.
Republican lawmakers return from the
week-long congressional break hoping to
complete a budget resolution and pass
President Bush's proposed tax cut
package by June. It is an ambitious
schedule that could be upset by a U.S.-led
military confrontation with Iraq.
Bush's proposed budget for next year
includes about $1.5 trillion in tax cuts over
the next decade. Nearly $700 billion of that
is part of an economic package the White House said is needed to create jobs and
lift the sagging stock market.
Bush and his economic team have been traveling around the country trying to sell
the package to the public and bolster support among Republicans. It calls for
accelerating schedule income tax cuts and eliminating taxes paid by investors on
corporate dividends.
Moderate Senate Republicans and some Democrats who supported Bush's $1.35
trillion tax cut in 2001 have expressed skepticism about the latest package,
particularly the dividend tax cut which accounts for more than half the 10-year cost to
the Treasury.
Democrats have launched an attack against the tax cut by arguing it will mostly
benefit the wealthiest Americans while fueling long-term budget deficits that will
eventually lead to higher interest rates and a stagnant economy.
They note the administration is asking Congress for the second time in two years to
raise the nation's debt ceiling and argue it is wrong to cut taxes at a time of potential
war and higher spending needs to address the increased risk of terrorism.
"With the administration preparing for war in Iraq and America on high alert, this is
an extremely dangerous time for our country," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi,
of California, told a meeting of the Democratic National Committee Friday. "It is
indefensible that the Bush administration has not made funding for our first
responders its top priority."
Democrats have been pushing for more federal aid to cash-strapped states and
local communities to help them pay for fire fighters and police, the 'first responders,'
as well rising Medicaid health care costs for the poor.
Additional spending needs
Estimates for the cost of a war with Iraq and subsequent occupation by U.S. forces
have ranged from $50 billion to as high as $200 billion. The administration made no
provisions for the cost of a potential war in its proposed budget for fiscal 2004, which
starts October 1.
Source ------> CNN.com