War worsens budget concerns

By Deirdre Fulton

WASHINGTON – Members of the Maine congressional delegation pledged Tuesday to support President Bush's request for $74.7 billion to pay for the war in Iraq and increased homeland security although a majority of the delegation opposes the size of the proposed Bush tax cut.

In the Senate Tuesday, Sen. Olympia J. Snowe was one of only three Republicans to vote for a Democratic amendment that would slash President Bush's tax cut in half, from $726 billion to $350 billion over the next decade. The amendment, which Snowe had been advocating among centrist Senators, was defeated on the Senate floor last Friday. Yesterday it passed 51-48 as a result of slight changes made to draw support from a few undecided lawmakers, said Snowe spokeswoman Elizabeth Wenk.

Snowe's vote to halve the tax cut was not based solely on war concerns, but also on worries about the flagging economy, the deficit and the cost of the war on terror. "The global uncertainties have cast a dark shadow over a domestic economy that was already
on shaky ground even before September 11th catapulted our economy deeper into
recession," Snowe said in a statement.

War costs make massive tax cuts irresponsible, Democratic Rep. Thomas Allen said in an interview. "It's destructive, it's crazy," he said about Bush's proposed tax cut. Because billions and billions more dollars could be required for the war and rebuilding Iraq in addition to this six-month supplemental war proposal, a tax cut would be especially harmful, Allen said.

Bush's war request includes $59.8 billion for military operations, $4.25 billion for homeland security interests and $2.4 billion for post-war reconstruction.

Allen speculated that Congress would definitely vote to approve the $74.7 billion supplemental request, "and so will I." But he said that while the request was necessary to support America's troops and allies, it underscores the need for reexamination of the current budget proposal. About Tuesday's Senate vote to reduce the tax cut, Allen said that it was "helpful" and that "if it holds up, it will diminish the damage done by the budget resolution."

"We need to throw out the [president's] budget that's been considered in the House and Senate," Allen said, suggesting Congress work on passing a budget that is "realistic and prudent so that we're not cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans at a time when we're running up hundreds of billions of dollars for a war."

Michaud supported a different budget proposal backed by centrist House Democrats and Republicans last week. He said that proposal, which the House rejected, "addressed these inadequacies, balanced the budget and provided necessary funding for first responders, veterans' health care programs and our military efforts in Iraq."

The Senate has been considering the size of the Bush tax cut for several weeks.
Senator Susan M. Collins voted for a successful amendment last week which reduced the Bush tax cut by $100 billion (which Snowe voted against). However, Collins voted against Tuesday's larger reduction in the tax cut.

"My concern with the $350 billion tax cut is that, ironically, it is both too small and too big," Collins said in a statement. If the economy is weak after war, the stimulus package might need to be bigger, she said, but if the economy is strong, "we may not need a stimulus package at all." Collins said Congress should wait until after the war to figure out whether a stimulus tax package is necessary.

Collins said she expected some debate on the president's supplemental war funding request, particularly its provisions for additional homeland security funds, but she predicted that Congress would "act swiftly" to pass the request.

Snowe vowed to fight for flexibility for the $2 billion in homeland security funds slated to go directly to state and local governments.

"I will work to make funding more flexible so local governments can use the money for their specific needs," the senator said in a statement. "While equipment is absolutely vital to emergency preparedness, it is ineffective if responders are not trained on how to use it."

Democratic Rep. Michael Michaud also expressed concern about homeland security, saying it remained "drastically inadequate."

"I continue to hear from firefighters and other first responders across Maine who state
that they do not have the necessary funding or training to provide for our homeland security," he said.

Published in The Kennebec Journal and The Morning Sentinel, in Maine.