John Sarbanes: “Calming down frenzy for a big federal tax cut. Congress should take a close look at Bush's forecast figures and a…”

“Calming down frenzy for a big federal tax cut. Congress should take a close look at Bush's forecast figures and a decidedly cautious approach. They quote the Comptroller General from his testimony before our committee where he said that: 'No one should design tax or spending policy pegged to the precise numbers in any 10-year forecast'--exactly the point that the able Senator made at the outset of his statement. And they conclude: 'Mr. Bush has raised expectations, but Congress still must carefully examine every aspect of this major proposal. We all want smaller tax bills, but only if they are reasonable and responsible.' Reasonable and responsible--and, as the Senator has pointed out, in the context of dealing with these basic needs: Education, infrastructure, defense. This administration has already sent the signal that they are going to want a major step up in defense and of course, reserving a significant amount of the surplus to pay down the debt. When are we going to pay off the debt, if we don't do it when we are running large surpluses and are at a 4.2 percent unemployment rate? We have a strong economy now. We don't want to risk the chance of knocking it off the track. The Washington Post had an editorial entitled 'Fiscal Souffle.' They conclude it by saying: A rush to commit too much of the projected surplus could take the country back to borrow and spend, just as the last big tax cut did 20 years ago.”