chefmike
03-30-2007, 02:19 PM
No More Bush Tax Cuts! 8) :P
"The Republicans know they are misrepresenting this budget to the American people,'' said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
As for the Republican claim that the Democrats are raising taxes, Hoyer said they were engaged in a lie, although he couldn't bring himself to say that. "There's a three-letter word for that that I won't use,'' he said of the Republican claims.
The budget plan, not dissimilar from the budget already passed by the Senate, makes no mention of the tax cuts that were a centerpiece of President Bush's first term. So, Democrats asked, how does that qualify as a tax increase?
"We didn't write 'em,'' Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, D-S.C., said of the tax cuts, which Democrats have long said favored the richest Americans. "We didn't design 'em. The Republicans did. They are the ones who are responsible for them expiring.''
"The Republicans live in a world of make-believe. But instead of imaginary friends, they have imaginary demons -- imaginary tax increases,'' said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas.
And besides, the Democrats said, if the Republicans were so gung-ho on making the Bush tax cuts permanent, why didn't they do so when they had majorities in both houses of Congress?
The budget nonbinding resolution, which is required under the 1974 Budget Act, sets overall targets for revenue and spending and is intended to guide Congress as it debates 13 separate appropriations bills that pay for the federal government. Democratic leaders say they will move the appropriations bills through Congress in May and June.
The Democrats gave a key role in drafting their budget plan to their Blue Dog Caucus, members known on both sides of the aisles as Congress' leading deficit hawks, who rail about the trillions of dollars, which they call the debt tax, added to the federal debt under Bush. They yearn for a return to the days of budget surpluses built under Democratic President Bill Clinton.
The Democratic Congress has reinstated the "pay as you go'' rules of the 1990s, which the Republicans suspended under Bush, requiring that any spending increases be balanced by tax increases or spending cuts so the deficit isn't increased.
Republicans contend that the tax cuts fueled economic growth over the past five years and say that the federal budget deficit has been declining in recent years because of tax revenue increases.
The Democratic budget includes the same $2.9 trillion total figure Bush proposed in early February. But it reflects different priorities by including more money for such domestic programs as education, children's health and health care for active-service military personnel and veterans.
"The Republicans know they are misrepresenting this budget to the American people,'' said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
As for the Republican claim that the Democrats are raising taxes, Hoyer said they were engaged in a lie, although he couldn't bring himself to say that. "There's a three-letter word for that that I won't use,'' he said of the Republican claims.
The budget plan, not dissimilar from the budget already passed by the Senate, makes no mention of the tax cuts that were a centerpiece of President Bush's first term. So, Democrats asked, how does that qualify as a tax increase?
"We didn't write 'em,'' Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, D-S.C., said of the tax cuts, which Democrats have long said favored the richest Americans. "We didn't design 'em. The Republicans did. They are the ones who are responsible for them expiring.''
"The Republicans live in a world of make-believe. But instead of imaginary friends, they have imaginary demons -- imaginary tax increases,'' said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas.
And besides, the Democrats said, if the Republicans were so gung-ho on making the Bush tax cuts permanent, why didn't they do so when they had majorities in both houses of Congress?
The budget nonbinding resolution, which is required under the 1974 Budget Act, sets overall targets for revenue and spending and is intended to guide Congress as it debates 13 separate appropriations bills that pay for the federal government. Democratic leaders say they will move the appropriations bills through Congress in May and June.
The Democrats gave a key role in drafting their budget plan to their Blue Dog Caucus, members known on both sides of the aisles as Congress' leading deficit hawks, who rail about the trillions of dollars, which they call the debt tax, added to the federal debt under Bush. They yearn for a return to the days of budget surpluses built under Democratic President Bill Clinton.
The Democratic Congress has reinstated the "pay as you go'' rules of the 1990s, which the Republicans suspended under Bush, requiring that any spending increases be balanced by tax increases or spending cuts so the deficit isn't increased.
Republicans contend that the tax cuts fueled economic growth over the past five years and say that the federal budget deficit has been declining in recent years because of tax revenue increases.
The Democratic budget includes the same $2.9 trillion total figure Bush proposed in early February. But it reflects different priorities by including more money for such domestic programs as education, children's health and health care for active-service military personnel and veterans.