Presidential play   Inaugural sneak peek   Teens in the Bush era   Assuming power   Presidential roles   The power of the media   Capital career changes   D.C. debriefings   Past inaugurals   Promises of unity   Views from the sidelines   Web resources   Glossary   allpolitics coverage     Webcast basics   Webcast schedule   Unit overview   Lesson plans   Discussion/activities   Backgrounders   Ask an expert   Web resources   allpolitics coverage       Latest news   Archives   Back to mainpage

Democrats show signs
of favoring Bush's tax cut plan

IN CONTEXT What's happening? Significance

January 23, 2001
Web posted at: 12:43 PM EST (1743 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President George W. Bush has not yet occupied the Oval Office for a week, but there are signs that he will make good on his promise to unify Democrats and Republicans.

Sources on both sides of Capitol Hill have said that Democratic lawmakers are moving away from the targeted tax cut plan proposed last year by the Clinton-Gore team and toward the $1.3 trillion tax cut that Bush is pushing.

Bush's plan, introduced by U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm, the Texas Republican, calls for replacing the five current tax rate brackets that run from 15 percent to 39.6 percent with four new rate brackets: 10 percent, 15 percent, 25 percent and 33 percent. It also doubles the child tax credit from $500 to $1,000, reduces the so-called marriage tax penalty and repeals the inheritance tax.

Most Democrats still object to the size of the tax cut and say it needs to be aimed at middle-income taxpayers and not the wealthy. But Democrats in the House and Senate said there has been significant movement within their caucuses about tax cuts since the election.

FRESH PERSPECTIVE What will life be like for teens under President George W. Bush?    TRANSCRIPT Bush inaugural address    WEB EXCLUSIVE Patty Davis: Bipartisan support for Bush tax cut plan

The change in mind-set could be because of the slowdown in the economy, larger-than-expected surplus projections and the belief that Democratic candidates were hurt during the election when Republicans painted them as being tax-cut opponents.

One Senate aide familiar with the work being done by Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee said Democrats also believe that Bush only has a six-month window to pass a large tax cut. If the economy slows down, the updated surplus figures released next summer will reflect a proportionate decline in government revenue.

This will alarm fiscal conservatives in both parties who favor paying down the national debt and worry about dipping into the Social Security surplus to pay for government spending.

Congress to review possible tax cuts
Jan. 18, 2001
Clinton's final economic report
Jan. 12, 2001
Bush starts term focusing on taxes, education
Jan. 22, 2001
Democrat Zell Miller to co-sponsor Bush tax cut
January 21, 2001
Campaign promises could prove troublesome for Bush
January 9, 2001