[size=4]Daschle: Stimulus Bill Dead[/size=4]
By Curt Anderson Associated Press
Tuesday, February 5, 2002; 3:08 PM

WASHINGTON – The economic stimulus bill that President Bush says will hasten recovery from recession appears dead in the Senate and will probably be shelved, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle said Tuesday.

Daschle, D-S.D., said neither Republicans nor Democrats will have the 60 votes necessary to win approval of their competing measures – and that the Senate will take up other business on Wednesday.

[b]"It's with great regret I will pull the bill tomorrow," Daschle told reporters Tuesday.[/b]

Daschle's comments would seem to seal the doom of legislation President Bush has been pushing since October to boost an economy that began a downturn in March and was rocked again by the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

The House twice passed economic stimulus measures last year, but both foundered in the Senate. Daschle tried in January to resurrect the issue with a bare-bones package focused on a few popular items, but Republicans sought to attach bigger tax cuts they said would spur growth.

Daschle blamed the GOP for trying to "score political points" by offering these tax cuts instead of working to compromise. Republicans said it was the Democrats who would not bend.

"I'm wondering if they would really like to have a genuine compromise," said Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee.

The Senate is scheduled to vote Wednesday on whether to end debate on the stimulus plan, which would require 60 votes. Neither side expects that threshold to be reached.

Earlier Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill told the House Ways and Means Committee the U.S. economy is showing signs that the recession is ending and could return to growth rates as high as 3.5 percent by the end of 2002 "if we are able to pass still-needed economic security legislation."

"We see more and more signs every day indicating that the seeds for a recovery are there, and only need nourishing to speed the process of putting Americans back to work," O'Neill said.

O'Neill also said the 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut enacted last year helped make the recession a shallow one and that the tax relief will continue to help the economy recover and government return to its budget surplus.

"The focus must be on restoring growth. Surpluses will then follow naturally," O'Neill said.

- continued -

Democrats, however, said the president's wish to make that tax cut permanent – it will expire at the end of 2010 under current law – would primarily benefit wealthier taxpayers while siphoning away resources needed for other priorities.

"Why does the president give wealthy individuals priority?" asked Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark, D-Calif.

Without the bill, the Bush administration predicted in releasing its budget for the 12 months starting Oct. 1 that "it will mean fewer jobs, smaller growth in incomes and smaller budget surpluses." Even so, many economists, including Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, say a stimulus bill is less critical now that the recession is appears to be ending.

Some House Republican conservatives want to turn stalemate on stimulus into a balanced budget for the fiscal year that begins in 2003. The $77 billion earmarked in Bush's budget for the stimulus measure would bring the plan within $4 billion of balance, said Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz.

"If the powers that be block a stimulus bill, then a balanced budget is within reach," said Shadegg, leader of a group of 70 House GOP conservatives.

The Bush administration is supporting a House-passed bill that would provide $89 billion in stimulus in 2002 and $73 billion in 2003. It would accelerate income tax cuts now set to take effect in the future and provide a new round of rebate checks of up to $600 aimed at lower-income Americans.

The bill would extend unemployment benefits by 13 weeks, help laid-off workers pay for health insurance and give corporations and small businesses more generous tax breaks for new investment.

Daschle's bill, providing $69 billion in stimulus in 2002, includes the unemployment benefits extension, business tax breaks, tax rebate checks and an increase in Medicaid money to help states balance their budgets.

The biggest tax relief item in the new Bush budget proposal is $344 billion included for the first years of a permanent extension of the 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut enacted last year. That tax cut is now set to expire at the end of 2010 – meaning millions of people could face a huge tax increase without the extension.

See article at:[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27450-2002Feb5.html[/url]

Eric The(PartisanshipIsAliveAndWell)Hun[>]:)]

I must congratulate Daschle because he has just handed the 2002 Elections to George W. Bush and the Republicans.

Bush's Bill would have helped citizens during the bad, and continuing to get worse every day, Economy.

To Quote:

"The bill would extend unemployment benefits by 13 weeks, help laid-off workers pay for health insurance and give corporations and small businesses more generous tax breaks for new investment."

Dashle and the Leftist Democrats are going to remember the day they killed this Bill because it's going to come back at them in November in the Voting Booth.

I hope to God you are right.  If the Republicans can hang onto the House and also manage to regain the majority in the Senate, I will dance on my roof.  If the Klinton Krime Bill sunsets and Bush gets re-elected in 2004, I will kiss everyone on this board.  [;)]

We should petition Ron Paul to beat the snot out of Daschle.

I could be wrong. But this one time at band camp, I read a book(yes, my reading extends farther than nudie mags) that said that a deficit is actually good for the economy granted it is not increasing at an exponential rate. However, I'm not an economist, but I did stay at a BestWestern last night.

Uh......yup, that's what I meant. That the ticket. Holiday Inn Express yeah, that's what I said.

The stimulus bill wouldn't have helped anyway.  Even if it did work, it would probably kick in as the economy began to recover anyway.

Bill Clinton's first act as president was to try to push a $31b stimulus package through.  It died in Congress, but we managed to have 7 year economic expansion anyway.  So we we don't need no steenking stimulus bills.  We need tax cuts!  And pronto!

Hey, Dark Helmet
Change your tag line, there's only a couple of things that are surrounded by an ass#ole, and I don't think you want to be any of them.[;)]
Borg

He's a doctor's finger??  That makes [i]no[/i] sense. . . . [:p] [:D] [:p]

Daschle reminds me of the little, sniveling assholes we had in high school who were always getting their asses kicked. Not because they were small or weak, but because they had fat mouths and didn't have the sense not to bad mouth the jocks.

Someone with an e-bay account, I say we auction of a Daschle ass kicking. Anyone up for some fun?

I hope your correct, but I doubt it.  Most people have no memory and will forget about this in no time at all.

Daschle is already running for president...the dems are afraid that in Nov they are going to loose control of the senate and be even more overidden in the house.. they will do anything to prevent that even wreck the economy in my opinion...the stock market tanked on this news alone...as it does more and more foreign investors will look for safer havens for their money..witness the flight into yen, euros gold bullion and gold stocks the last couple of days...The stimulus package would have prevented this...Daschle and the dems dont give a rats ass about the country...imo
and Daschle knows (thanks to James (the snake) Carvelle- that "Its the economy stupid")..if the dems can finish wrecking it (remember the slick willie way of doing business for the previous 8 yrs caused the Enrons and Global Crossing and Anderson ways of accounting)..they are going to try to blame all of this on Bush..and undermine our war on terrorism at the same time..if the people believe this bs and then re-elect a dem pres all the homeland security will be used against us...and that is the really scarry thought...their greed for power exceeds the constitution...in Bush's and Ashcrofts hands our liberties are for the most part secure..but put these same laws in Demoncrats hands and better Bar the Door Katie IMO
[url]http://www.nationalpost.com/financialpost/story.html?f=/stories/20020206/1351827.html[/url]

Tom Daschle is DEAD MEAT AND SO ARE THE DEMOCRATS.  THE REPUBLICANS ARE GOING TO HAVE A FIELD DAY WITH THIS ONE .  And JIM JEFFORDS IS STILL A TRATORIOUS BASTARD, I will never forgive that man.


Benjamin