For Release: Wednesday, March 28th, 2001
Contact: David Gillies: 202-225-5661
COSTELLO OPPOSES BOTH REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRATIC BUDGETS
Washington - U.S. Congressman Jerry Costello (D-IL) today voted against the ten-year budget offered by the Republican leadership because its $1.6 billion tax cut is too large and it fails to adequately fund important priorities such as agriculture, education, veterans, the COPS program, prescription drugs for seniors and national defense. He also voted against the Democratic budget, because while it is a vast improvement on the Republican plan, it is also based on unreliable ten-year projections. Instead, he supported an alternative offered by the "Blue Dogs," a group of moderate and conservative Democrats, based on economic estimates covering only the next five years. Costello believes this is a more realistic approach.
"We know from experience that trying to predict the economy over five years is difficult - over ten years it is impossible," said Costello. "A five-year budget makes sense. It provides for a reasonable tax cut while paying down the debt and devoting more resources to critical priorities that the Republican budget neglects."
Costello is particularly concerned about excessive Republican tax cuts amid signs that the economy is slowing, which could lead to big deficits in the future. While he supports a significant tax cut and will vote again this year to repeal the estate tax and eliminate the marriage penalty tax, Costello believes a five-year budget will allow a better opportunity to assess the health of the economy and to tailor policies to keep it strong. An additional concern is that the Republicans allow for the privatization of Social Security, which could jeopardize the long-term solvency of the program.
"We learned from the Reagan policies of the 1980s that large tax cuts do not lead to balanced budgets, let alone surpluses. We need a more fiscally responsible approach than the Republicans are currently offering to provide tax relief while keeping our important commitments to programs like Social Security and Medicare," stated Costello.
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