Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Reid: Bush, roll back tax cuts

WASHINGTON -- After returning from a trip to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada on Monday said he will not consider offsets in the federal budget to pay for damage caused by Hurricane Katrina until President Bush agrees to roll back tax cuts.

Congress already has approved $62.3 billion in relief funds this month, and Reid said he expects lawmakers to authorize more money this week.

"We're spending a lot of money in the Gulf," Reid said. "We have to do that, but is there anyone in the world that can justify $70 billion in tax cuts? I don't think so. So before I talk about offsets, let the president focus on that."

White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said Bush will not abandon the tax cuts because the president believes they will spur economic growth. By calling for an end to tax cuts, Reid is proposing a tax increase, Lisaius said.

"The president has rejected calls to raise taxes," Lisaius said. "The (White House) Office of Management and Budget will be working with Congress to cut unnecessary spending in the federal budget to handle the concerns raised by Katrina."

Reid was part of a congressional delegation that traveled Friday to New Orleans, Mississippi and Alabama to inspect damage caused by the hurricane.

"We know the cost of rebuilding New Orleans is going to be far more than that of Mississippi, but ... it's more difficult to see the damage in New Orleans because it's water damage," Reid said. "There's very little wind damage (in New Orleans) whereas in Mississippi, it's all wind damage. And it's devastation. I mean, you can see it just blew down everything."

Reid said he could tell the water level has gone down in New Orleans, but the damage already has been done.

"You see some of these big homes; they look OK," Reid said. "But they've been soaking in salt water for two weeks. They're gone. They'll tear them down."

Reid said he will not negotiate with Republicans who are seeking Democratic input in forming a joint select committee in Congress to investigate the disaster. Instead, Reid renewed his call for a probe by an independent commission.

Reid made his comments after briefly appearing at a hearing by the Democratic Policy Committee on rising gasoline prices.

"It's unfortunate that when the nation is looking for leadership and solutions, we're seeing the politics of division from Democrats," said Danny Diaz, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.