|
Press Room | ||
|
For IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, April 06, 2001 Reckless Tax Plan Hits Major Senate Roadblock
Washington, DC — The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, hailed the U.S. Senate's decision today to pare down President Bush's proposed 10-year tax cut by $400 billion to a level that would provide more room to address the urgent priorities of working families. "Today was a great day for Democrats and even some Republicans who believe that the President's massive tax giveaway to the wealthy is irresponsible and unfair to working families," said President Gerald W. McEntee. "This reckless driver just got stopped by the moderation police." The Senate voted 65-35 today in support of a tax limit of $1.2 trillion, following surprise defections by three moderate Republican senators yesterday in favor of a Democratic amendment to divert $450 billion from the proposal to education and debt reduction. The $1.2 trillion figure was significantly less than the $1.6 trillion requested by the President and largely rubberstamped by the House Republican majority during the last few weeks. And it was much lower than the nearly $3 trillion price tag that independent experts place on the Bush proposal, after its accounting gimmicks, lower debt payments, and other costs are factored in. Nevertheless, Mr. McEntee cautioned, this new amount dedicated to tax cuts is still too high, given the uncertainty surrounding the 10-year budget surplus projections and the need to dedicate funding to Medicare and Social Security, education, prescription drug coverage, housing, transportation infrastructure, and other priority areas. "Today's vote was a step in the right direction, but Congress needs to listen more carefully to the voices of the large majority of working Americans who want us to fight for other, very important priorities," Mr. McEntee said. |
 |
||
.gif)
