Responding to Bush’s Stimulus Plan
The candidates responded to President Bush’s $145 billion economic stimulus plan and touted their own plans for the economy Friday.
The Democratic frontrunners attacked the plan and said it would have a negative effect on the middle class:
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY): “I hope President Bush will work with Democrats to design an economic stimulus plan that includes temporary tax relief focused on both jumpstarting our economy and fully supporting our most hard-pressed working families. I also urge the Administration to address the concerns I raised in my plan, including help for those struggling to find new jobs, keep their health care, and pay rising energy bills.”
John Edwards: “The economic damage done by Bush and Cheney is deep and long-lasting, and the temporary tax cuts he proposes will not solve it alone.”To help middle class families get ahead over the long haul, we need to invest in a clean energy infrastructure that will create jobs now and pay economic dividends for decades to come.”
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL): “After months and months of watching families struggle to get by in this economy, George Bush finally offered a plan that would leave out tens of millions of working Americans and seniors who need help most and are most likely to spend and boost our economy. That’s why when I announced my economic stimulus package last week, I called for immediate tax relief for working families and seniors who shouldn’t have to wait for help any longer.”
Republicans, on the other hand, praised the plan:
Rudy Giuliani: “President Bush’s stimulus package is a positive step toward re-energizing the American economy… I will extend the current tax rates immediately and go even further – calling for lower rates, while also dramatically simplifying the tax code.”
Mike Huckabee: “President Bush’s plan will help, and it’s an important step. But South Carolina and the rest of the nation need some bigger changes if we are to reverse the trends of the last few years…If we replace the IRS with the Fair Tax, we lift the burden off of the small- and medium-sized businesses who create most of the jobs. Then the only people who we then have to feel sorry for are the legions of Washington lobbyists who manipulate the current complicated code for somebody else.”
Mitt Romney: “Today, the President took an important step forward to jumpstarting our economy by laying out his principles for an economic stimulus package. We must immediately cut taxes on both individuals and businesses, and address the housing crisis to help American homeowners. Permanent reductions in both individual and corporate tax rates are vital to strengthening the economy in the long term.”
Republican candidates Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Fred Thompson, Rep Duncan Hunter, (R-CA), and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) have not yet responded to Bush’s plan, nor have Democratic candidates Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Mike Gravel.
