Congress cuts Bush's tax cut in half

Just yesterday it seemed the Senate had unexpectedly given Bush the bulk of his tax cuts. Today, everything changed.

The Republican-led U.S. Senate on Tuesday unexpectedly voted to slash President Bush's proposed $726 billion tax cut plan to $350 billion amid growing worries about the cost of war in Iraq and rising deficits.

It was a major blow to the plan Bush says will boost the stock market and create jobs. Three Republicans broke ranks with their majority to join Democrats in a vote of 51-48 to add the change to a $2.2 trillion 2004 federal budget.

This is where things will get interesting. DeLay's House has vowed that it won't pass any budget without the tax cuts. GOP "moderates" in the House have indicated they will vote with Democrats for the smaller package, but who the heck can ever trust those so-called moderates? They obviously live in mortal fear of DeLay.

Posted March 25, 2003 06:54 PM | Comments (36)