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CNN Live At Daybreak

President Bush's Agenda, Focus on Economy

Aired May 05, 2003 - 06:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush will be in Little Rock, Arkansas today near some of that tornado damage. He's supposed to talk about the economy, but he's sure to mention the storms now.
CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash joins us live with details.

Good morning -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, this is a critical week for the president and his tax cut package, specifically because key committees in Congress -- in the Senate and in the House -- are going to begin to actually write the legislation to craft the tax cut proposal, and it will be unclear exactly how much of the president's plan will end up in there. But the president is certainly going to be pushing that issue this week.

He wakes up this morning in Crawford, Texas, at his ranch. That is where he spent the weekend, mostly with the Australian prime minister, John Howard. But he does head to Little Rock Arkansas, where he will talk up the economy, talk about his plan for the economy.

And it comes just a couple of days after the White House got that bad news, a 6 percent rate of the unemployment rate. That was a rise in the unemployment rate. And the president said on Friday, and will likely say again today, that he believes the best way to address that, the best way to create jobs is by passing the highest tax cut possible. It's likely that's certainly what we will hear from the president today.

But it will be an uphill battle for him, because key moderate Senate Republicans and moderate Democrats certainly in the Senate are not inclined to vote for a large tax cut, because they believe it will hurt the economy because it will grow the deficit.

Arkansas, also, Carol, is the home of a moderate Democrat, actually two moderate Democrats, but specifically Senate Blanche Lincoln who, two years ago, did vote for the president's tax cut plan. So, the White House, this is part of their strategy to try to pressure key members of Congress to go his way -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And you've got to believe that some governors in that part of the country are going to ask him for federal disaster aid to help with the damage left by those devastating storms this weekend.

Dana Bash, many thanks -- live from the White House this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired May 5, 2003 - 06:37   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush will be in Little Rock, Arkansas today near some of that tornado damage. He's supposed to talk about the economy, but he's sure to mention the storms now.
CNN White House correspondent Dana Bash joins us live with details.

Good morning -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, this is a critical week for the president and his tax cut package, specifically because key committees in Congress -- in the Senate and in the House -- are going to begin to actually write the legislation to craft the tax cut proposal, and it will be unclear exactly how much of the president's plan will end up in there. But the president is certainly going to be pushing that issue this week.

He wakes up this morning in Crawford, Texas, at his ranch. That is where he spent the weekend, mostly with the Australian prime minister, John Howard. But he does head to Little Rock Arkansas, where he will talk up the economy, talk about his plan for the economy.

And it comes just a couple of days after the White House got that bad news, a 6 percent rate of the unemployment rate. That was a rise in the unemployment rate. And the president said on Friday, and will likely say again today, that he believes the best way to address that, the best way to create jobs is by passing the highest tax cut possible. It's likely that's certainly what we will hear from the president today.

But it will be an uphill battle for him, because key moderate Senate Republicans and moderate Democrats certainly in the Senate are not inclined to vote for a large tax cut, because they believe it will hurt the economy because it will grow the deficit.

Arkansas, also, Carol, is the home of a moderate Democrat, actually two moderate Democrats, but specifically Senate Blanche Lincoln who, two years ago, did vote for the president's tax cut plan. So, the White House, this is part of their strategy to try to pressure key members of Congress to go his way -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And you've got to believe that some governors in that part of the country are going to ask him for federal disaster aid to help with the damage left by those devastating storms this weekend.

Dana Bash, many thanks -- live from the White House this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.