Senate Passes Budget Plan, Extending Bush Tax Breaks

[rodeodance]

Source: WP


Senate Passes Budget Plan, Extending Bush Tax Breaks

By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 24, 2007; Page A08

The Senate yesterday approved a $2.9 trillion budget blueprint that calls for raising the federal cigarette tax to pay for a massive expansion of the nation's health insurance program for children. It also authorizes big boosts in spending next year for public education and veterans' services.

The Democratic spending plan would extend some of President Bush's signature tax breaks for middle-class families past their 2010 expiration date, a modification pushed by moderate Democrats. It also promises to erase the federal deficit within five years, though Democratic leaders acknowledge that difficult decisions about tax policy still stand in the way of that goal.


"I don't assert that this is a perfect budget. If I had a totally free hand, I am certain it would be different," said the plan's chief author, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) "But at the end of the day . . . it is our obligation and our responsibility to put a budget in place to begin the difficult task of balancing the books while meeting the priority needs of our nation."

The two Maine Republicans, Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins, broke ranks to join Democrats and independent Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) in supporting the plan, which passed 52 to 47. A similar spending proposal is to be debated in the House next week.


Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032300757.html

[mac56]

1. misleading headline

"Senate Passes Budget Plan, Extending Bush Tax Breaks"

doesn't equal

"The Democratic spending plan would extend some of President Bush's signature tax breaks for middle-class families past their 2010 expiration date, a modification pushed by moderate Democrats."

[Kolesar]

3. No kidding. WaPo makes it read like a RW victory...sigh...eom

[sakabatou]

10. Did a double take on it

[papau]

19. extend 2 yrs child tax credit/10% bracket/marriage penalty relief - those were the throwaways in the

Bush tax cuts for the rich - they cost little and do a lot - and are not the tax cuts for the rich that was 80% of the "Bush Tax Cuts"

WaPo is continuing its conversion to a Fox Cable News clone.

[VegasWolf]

2. Raising the Federal cigarette tax is a GREAT idea! nt

[DanWithAngel]

4. too bad booze, fat and countless others were not taxed more

why stop at just one human habit?

[Warren Stupidity]

5. fat? Like an Ass Tax instead of a Head Tax?

That is just wrong.

[youngdem]

13. Why? Doesn't it cost the taxpayer BILLIONS when a person on Medicare

or without insurance gets 80% of their nutrition from BonBons then inexplicably develops diabetes?

All products should be taxed based on the amount of public cost they incur, ideally.

[pokercat999]

15. Bon-bons, man why you dissen' Bon-bons? Dems good

food that's good for ya. And cars should cost about 10 million bucks each? Just asking.

[mac56]

6. So , since we can't address each and every bad habit -

we're not allowed to address any of them?

Nonsense.

[DanWithAngel]

8. then booze would be first on the bad list

certainly above smoking. more domestic deaths and tragedy have resulted from booze
than any crop smoking. pandering and pathetic it is.

[ProudDad]

14. Actually smoking is worse

Cigarettes -- over 400,000 dead per year
Booze -- over 45,000 dead per year

[VegasWolf]

7. Cigarettes at the very least! They physically stink. Being around a smoker is

disgusting.

[DanWithAngel]

9. being around a drunken violent person is worse

but smokers are an easier target so i understand the compromise. yes, cig smoke stinks.

[mac56]

11. One can drink without becoming a "drunken violent person".

One cannot smoke without creating stink.

And second-hand smoke causes illness to others.

[VegasWolf]

12. I agree both are physically disgusting and the drunk physically dangerous.

What compromise are you talking about? I have no objections to an increase of alcohol taxes. Alcohol and nicotine are two extremely dangerous "legal" drugs that should be taxed heavily in order to limit their overuse.

[Toots]

18. I get very tired of people defending the Tobacco Industry

They thrive on death and misery and people here defend them. I thought this was a Liberal board..It is like when people here wish to stop the war machinery people step up and say well why not stop the automobile industry cause cars kill people too..

[mac56]

21. Cigarettes are the only product that, if you use them as directed,

they will kill you.

[gulfcoastliberal]

16. I'm ashamed the dems keep living in fantasy land, making BS claims!

Saying they can keep the spending up with no tax increases, and still balance the budget in 5 years?! I'm sorry but that it total *co math.

[Rose Siding]

17. What BS. Bush's "signature" tax cuts were for the wealthy, not the middle class

This bill didn't deal with those. It didn't even touch capital gains. As the WP well knows, the bulk of all of Bush's tax cuts went to the top 2%.

[flaminbats]

20. what happened to Lieberman's plan to fund the war?

http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-joetax0323.artmar23,0,6904469.story?coll=hc-headlines-politics

Lieberman's willing to hike taxes to pay for the war, but where's the money? Lieberman's tax hikes wouldn't be necessary if he would just support the repeal of these taxcuts!! I guess Senate Democrats don't care if the next President gets the blame for tax increases, while Bush gets credit for waging a taxfree war in Iraq. :grr: