[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 124 (Friday, October 6, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10066-S10067]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            THE GORE BUDGET

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, yesterday, and maybe two previous 
occasions on the Senate floor, I discussed the Gore budget and what is 
going to happen to the huge amount of money that we are getting from 
the taxpayers, which we have begun to call a ``surplus.'' I choose now 
to call it the ``tax overpayment.'' It is what the people are paying in 
that we don't need.
  I would like to, once again, make sure the Republican candidate for 
President, George W. Bush, and the candidate for Vice President--who 
last night did such a marvelous job--the distinguished former Secretary 
of Defense, Dick Cheney--I urge them to continue to tell the American 
people what the Gore budget will look like.
  When it is mentioned, everybody says this came from the Budget 
Committee staff and the Republicans, and, therefore, you shouldn't use 
it; that it is partisan; that it is like paper that is not even worth 
using.
  I say to our two candidates, keep using it. Keep saying it is true 
because they are about as good as any people we have ever had to look 
at budgets. I am chairman of that committee, and, frankly, I have 
relied on their expertise year after year. I don't think I have to 
exaggerate and say they are the best. They are the best at getting to 
the bottom of programs and analyzing them. I asked them to do it. They 
did it. They gave us a major report on the subject, and I will say to 
our candidate--to the Governor of Texas, to the former Secretary of 
Defense, Dick Cheney--no matter what they say about it, you use it.
  The Gore budget has 200 new programs in it. If you estimate 
appropriately their cost based upon what is said about the program, you 
cannot pay for those programs without using all of the on-budget 
surplus and $700 to $900 billion of the Social Security surplus.
  Now, that is our version. We think it is true. And we don't believe 
the American people actually think when you finally have a surplus--
because we are paying so much more in taxes than we need--we don't 
think the American people want the Government to grow at the largest 
rate in modern history. Probably if you put the Gore expenditure budget 
into effect, you will increase Government in 1 to 2 years, more than 
any modern year, excepting maybe the Lyndon Johnson Great Society 
years.
  Now, it doesn't matter to me as the chairman of the Budget Committee 
what Vice President Gore says about these figures, nor what our 
distinguished Senator from Connecticut, Vice Presidential nominee who I 
have great, great respect for, it doesn't matter what they keep saying. 
The truth is, we have an analysis of that budget. Early next week we 
will have a full analysis. They finally put their budget on to sheets 
of paper. It is a very large budget. We will finally have that 
analyzed. I am told it will come out no different. It will come out the 
same way, 200-plus new programs, the largest new expenditure in the 
next 5 years that we have ever had in the Government. If you take them 
at their word and do all of them, you cannot do it without spending 
part of the Social Security surplus. No matter what they say about its 
source, it is as good as anything they have.
  I have great respect for the Vice Presidential nominee. He knows 
that. Last night he said something that wasn't true, and I ask him to 
revisit this. He said their budget, the budget they have, analyzed for 
the future, was done by a neutral body called the Congressional Budget 
Office. That is to make sure that everybody would think it is authentic 
and that the Domenici budget analysis is not authentic. I assure 
everyone, the Congressional Budget Office does not do an analysis of 
either candidate's budget. In fact, that is not within their 
prerogative. They have not analyzed the Gore budget. They have not 
analyzed the budget of the Governor of Texas, either. And they won't.
  The Democrats have somebody analyzing theirs, watching out for them, 
who is on their team, and they want everybody to think ours, and the 
majority staff has worked on this for years, they want everyone to 
believe it has no credibility. I think to the contrary.
  My friend Dick Cheney will be in my State in a few days. I hope he 
talks about this subject. Let them bring up the fact that Democrats 
don't think it is worth very much. We will make sure the public 
understands we have as good an analysis as anyone. If the Democratic 
nominee for President does every program he contemplates--there are 
some that are superexpensive. There are some universal programs in 
there that will never get adopted by Congress, but we might as well 
make sure the public understands they are expected, they are 
contemplated, they are out there to tell the people, elect us and we 
will do all these things.
  That is part of my reason for coming to the floor, so anyone who 
wonders whether that is authentic, I can assure Members, I will not 
give ground on this through the election and after the election. I 
believe it is right. I think our candidates ought to use it.
  Now I will talk about the so-called Al Gore tax cut plan and the 
George W. Bush plan. I don't know if I have enough time today to go 
through the George W. Bush plan, which is very simple. I am not sure I 
can do that because today I want to talk a little bit about a rather 
unique way to cut taxes, or allege you are cutting taxes, for middle-
income America when you are not.
  If there is a middle-income American who happens to be listening, and 
they say, oh, boy, Vice President Gore has spoken so much about giving 
the middle class a tax cut, I will get a tax cut--my friends, you are 
not necessarily going to get the tax cut. The Gore plan says the 
Internal Revenue Service will decide whether you get a tax cut. And you 
are going to apply for it when you file your tax return, and if you are 
a family, you have to go through up to 25 different tests with the 
Internal Revenue Service to determine what you are entitled to. In 
fact, if the people think the Internal Revenue Code is complicated, and 
IRS is not doing a good job, then remember that every single so-called 
tax cut that Vice President Gore is telling you about is going to be 
administered by the Internal Revenue Service, which is going to pass 
judgment on whether you are entitled to one of the scores of tax 
credits or other tax benefits. Let me go further, the IRS will 
determine what tax refunds or government check you are entitled to, 
because under Vice President Gore's plan not only taxpayers get tax 
breaks, people who pay no taxes get government checks.

  People will fill out their federal tax return. They will find a check 
in the mail from the Internal Revenue Service, even though they pay no 
taxes.
  That is part of his tax plan. The part for middle Americans, middle-
income Americans, you cannot just file your tax return and say, I am a 
middle-income American earning $65,000, and I want my 5-percent tax 
cut, or 7 or 10, you have to ask yourself if you qualify for a tax 
credit or a refundable tax credit under this plan. There are all kinds 
of reasons you might get some tax relief, but they are all going to 
administered by the Internal Revenue Service.
  Isn't that nice? So if you apply, and the IRS agrees, you get to use 
your tax money. If you apply and if you fit, you get to use your 
taxpayer dollars for a certain specified purpose.
  The most significant difference in the two men's tax proposals is 
that George W. Bush gives you a tax refund and you can spend it for 
whatever you want. The Vice President, the nominee from the Democratic 
Party, gives you no tax cut to spend as you may. Since it is your 
money, you have to qualify as if you were under a Federal program.
  Gore wants to imbed social policy of the country into the tax code. 
We are substituting the Internal Revenue Service as the one that gets 
to see whether or not you are going to be able to have these particular 
services paid for by the Federal Government. I cannot believe when the 
American people understand this that they are going to say they want 
that tax approach.

[[Page S10067]]

  Let me repeat, in order to get all of the so-called Gore middle-class 
tax cut, a family has to meet 25 different tests, at least one for each 
of the 25 proposed pieces of the Gore Middle Class tax cut. That means 
if you don't meet the tests, you don't get any relief, any help. 
Wouldn't it be better to have a 5-percent or a 10-percent tax cut, and 
you use the money as you see fit, if you are $67,000, a $72,000 family 
or $35,000 or $40,000? You have to understand or try to understand and 
then comply with 25 sets of rules before you see $1 of so-called tax 
relief.
  I thought tax policy was supposed to be neutral. The best tax policy 
does not try to engineer social behavior. I didn't think it was 
supposed to be the vehicle by which you ran scores of social programs 
and you told Americans if you want that program, you can pay for it and 
we will give you the money; but if you don't want that program, you 
don't get any tax relief.
  Gore proposes to substitute the Internal Revenue Service for a score 
of Government programs. Instead of saying let's create a new federal 
program in this area with Government, Al Gore says file a tax return, 
and if you fit the cookie cutter profile, you can help your great 
grandmother who is sick--you get some of your tax overpayment back to 
help pay some of those expenses. The Government will help you. It will 
not help you with a program, it will help you so that you will get a 
piece of the taxes you pay refunded--or deducted.

  This is not a step toward tax simplification. It will make the Tax 
Code more complicated. If it is too complicated today, it will become 
even more complicated. I think it would not take 3 or 4 years before 
the American people will force us to throw it out. But I do not think 
it will ever become law.
  Some of the tax cuts are not even for taxpayers, much less for 
middle-class Americans. Because of the income limits, many people who 
think they are middle class are left totally out because they earn too 
much money to pigeonholed into Al Gore's ``middle class,'' or to be 
entitled to one of the myriad tax credits the Vice President suggests 
is good tax policy.
  A refundable tax credit is Tax Code talk for Government checks to 
people who do not pay Federal income taxes. It sounds more like a way 
to have some welfare spending and use the income tax code to administer 
it. There is only one refundable credit in the code now, and many 
believe it is one too many. But I do not believe almost all of the 
entire surplus that is going to go to taxpayers ought to be done in 
this way, with refundable tax credits going to people who pay no 
federal income tax so long as the person does what the Vice President 
thinks you ought to do with your money. Refundable child care credits, 
refundable day care, refundable after school care--all specific and all 
already covered in the Earned Income tax credit. You don't have to be a 
taxpayer to get a so-called middle-income tax cut for child care, 
family leave, or stay-at-home parents or kids in afterschool care, or 
expanding the earned-income tax credit. More spending programs dressed 
up as tax cuts will be there for those who do not pay any taxes.
  In addition to refundable credits, the Vice President proposes 
initiates that this Administration has vetoed. For instance, tuition 
savings accounts are listed now as one of those things in the long list 
of things that you might put your money away for and get some tax 
relief. Al Gore says he would like to enact them. Interesting; this 
administration vetoed that bill for them more than once.
  The Vice President says he is for marriage penalty relief yet the 
Administration vetoed the bill providing it. The Vice President's 
proposal is curious. Let me say there is no marriage penalty relief if 
you own your own home and pay a mortgage. Isn't that interesting? This 
administration boasts record numbers of American homeowners. Yet, they 
will not give a dollar of marriage tax penalty relief to people who own 
homes and pay mortgages, again, using the Tax Code for social 
approaches in the United States. Perhaps the reason for this one is 
there are too many people who are building too many homes, and maybe we 
ought to slow it down.
  There is a tax credit for individual health insurance. Yet you get 
part of the middle-income tax cut if you need additional training, or 
certification programs. That is a separate notion in their Tax Code.
  So, today, I would like to start a series of discussions which I will 
bring to the floor regularly. The next one will be: What is the George 
Bush tax plan. The next time I come, I will include in the Record the 
entirety of Vice President Gore's so-called middle-income tax relief. I 
will bring the entire list. You might say: Why are you bringing a list? 
Isn't a middle-income tax cut just a percentage, just a cut?
  No; it is myriad programs. If you do not qualify as having done one 
of those, or choose to do one of them, you do not get tax credits nor 
refundable tax credits. That is a very new way to run America.

  We are going to expand those beyond recognition. The most significant 
one we have now is the earned-income tax credit. It is refundable. A 
lot of people who pay no federal income tax get a check from the 
federal government under the Earned Income Tax Credit program. It is an 
encouragement for low-income workers to work--although we have changed 
that, where you do not have to work. But, just think, we have a few of 
them. The entire middle-income tax proposal of the Vice President is 
going to be specific things that specific Americans qualify for or they 
do not get any tax relief.
  Essentially, I am going to close saying the most significant aspect 
of the Bush tax cut is that the 15-percent bracket is cut to 10. This 
is a tax cut for taxpayers. That encompasses almost the entirety of the 
tax cuts--15 percent at the bottom goes to 10. But, you see, everybody 
at every bracket pays taxes on some of their income at the lowest 
rate--15-percent bracket. So cutting the lowest rate helps all 
taxpayers. It is very simple. You get it because of the tax bracket and 
whatever other things are in the current Tax Code.
  I repeat, there is much talk about the top 1 percent. The top 1 
percent pays 33 percent of the taxes in America. When the Bush plan is 
completed they will pay 34 percent of the total tax take of America.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona is recognized for 10 
minutes.

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