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American Morning

Workers Printing Tax Return Checks

Aired July 20, 2001 - 09:01   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The initial batch of tax rebate checks is being mailed out today. It's part of President Bush's 10-year, $1.3 billion tax cut plan.

Our Jeff Flock is in Kansas City, where some of those checks are being printed.

Jeff, good morning.

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, to you, Daryn. A loud Kansas City this morning, but this is the sound of your money headed back to you.

Perhaps you can see this machine here. This is the last part of the process. This machine right here puts the envelope around your check. And they are already, I am told now, printing next week's checks ahead of the game.

Take a look out in the other room, and you see the boxes that have already been boxed up with checks that are done, 692,000 printed here so far, Jack Adams (ph). And you are already doing next week.

JACK ADAMS (ph): I'm already doing next week: 1.1 million.

FLOCK: You're ahead of game.

ADAMS (ph): I'm ahead of game.

FLOCK: We're giving our viewers a behind-the-scenes look here. What is this machine doing here. Explain how this works.

ADAMS (ph): It starts out with a paper whip of 500 pounds, and it forms the checks around the envelope.

FLOCK: So you don't stuff the checks in envelopes. You actually build the envelope around the check.

ADAMS (ph): Absolutely. We cut it and sign the checks and do all that.

FLOCK: Walk down here with me, if you can.

Have you ever seen this kind of attention to your operation? You do this all the time, right? ADAMS (ph): We do this all the time, but not with as much attention.

FLOCK: What is this lady doing right down here?

ADAMS (ph): This is the delivery table, and she's traying the checks, to put them in the boxes there to take it to the area for delivery.

FLOCK: There are all ready to go. As soon as they get into her hands, they're ready to go.

ADAMS (ph): They're ready to go.

FLOCK: Abbey (ph), are you going to be able to stay ahead of the curve on this all the way?

ADAMS (ph): I'm confident we will.

FLOCK: You've got to go all the way until September, right?

ADAMS (ph): Absolutely.

FLOCK: So far so good.

ADAMS (ph): So far so good.

FLOCK: Jack Adams, I appreciate it. I know you're eager. The vice president's going to be here later today.

ADAMS (ph): Yes, he is. I'm looking forward to that.

Everything is in order for the vice president's visit. Obviously, Mr. Cheney is saying himself they want to draw as much attention to this process as they can. One of the ways that they are doing that is giving some extraordinary access to ladies like Alice (ph) here, who are doing their jobs to try to get the check in the mail. And it's almost there; 2:00 local time, I think, is when they take those boxes on out there to the post office.

One final note is this does cost them something. They still have to pay postage on all of these checks, some 90 million or perhaps 100 million of them before it is done.

Back to you folks.

KAGAN: Jeff Flock, thank you so much.

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