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CNN Saturday Morning News
Bush Hopes for Tax Cut by Memorial Day
Aired May 12, 2001 - 09:24 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is pushing Congress for a final tax cut plan by Memorial Day. Will he get it?
To bring us up to date on the progress, we are joined by CNN White House correspondent Kelly Wallace.
Good morning, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
Well, Miles, as the president repeated his push for his tax cut, he also did something else. With Democrats accusing him of doing nothing about rising gas prices, the president said during his afternoon news conference yesterday that the best way to help consumers, some of whom are paying as much as $2 per gallon of gas, is to give them more money in their pockets right now.
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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To the Congress, who's interested in helping consumers pay high gas prices, pass the tax relief as quickly as possible. We've set aside $100 billion to help consumers with high energy prices. That's the quickest way to help consumers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: Well, to that, the House Democratic leader, Richard Gephardt, accused the president of being a one-trick pony, using a tax cut as the answer for every problem facing the country. Well, even with that being said, though, there is definitely momentum for tax cuts. Just yesterday, the top Democrat and Republican on the Tax Writing Committee in the Senate unveiled what they said is a bipartisan proposal that includes many but not all of the president's goals.
Under the plan, all income tax brackets would be reduced. The lowest tax rate would go from 15 percent to 10 percent, the top bracket would drop from 39.6 percent to 36 percent, not to 33 percent, as President Bush had proposed. And this would not be effective until 2007.
Other possible items on this tax plan, it would be a full repeal of the tax on estates by 2011, an increase in the child tax credit, and a reduction in the so-called marriage tax penalty beginning in 2006.
So now the stage is set, though, for some definite debate and some definite changes to this plan, because administration officials would like to push to have these tax cuts go into effect earlier. Also, some Democrats are still saying that this plan is still too generous to the rich.
Well, the top Democrat on that Senate Finance Committee said it is a balanced approach and helps working families much more than the president's plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-MT), FINANCE COMMITTEE: Clearly this is a -- it -- a result at this beginning stage which distributes income much more to moderate and low-income people compared with the president's bill. And I mention it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: Now, the Senate will debate and possibly vote on this bill next week. Then it would have to be reconciled with a House bill. Normally, this whole thing would take weeks, even months. But Republicans and even Democrats are pushing to get a bill to the president by Memorial Day -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Kelly Wallace, we appreciate it.
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