8A the university daily kansan
thursday, april 29, 2004
news
Lower taxes to come for some married couples
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The House voted yesterday to lower taxes for some married couples, part of an election-year push to lock in some of President Bush's most popular tax cuts.
The bill, passed 323-95, would permanently change three parts
of tax law that cause some married couples to pay higher taxes than they would as single individuals and reduce their taxes $105 billion over the next decade. Some married couples face a tax increase next year if the changes expire as scheduled.
"It encourages the values we hold most clear — marriage, family, hard work," said Rep. Jerry
The Bush administration praised the bill and asked lawmakers to make more tax cuts permanent.
Weller (R-Ill.)
"Tax relief has greatly helped the economy weather the storms of recent years and fueled the economic recovery under way today,"the administration said in a statement.
House lawmakers expect to debate bills over the next several weeks making other temporary tax cuts permanent, including the expanded 10 percent tax bracket and the $1,000 child tax credit.
The House voted 226-189 to reject a Democratic fix to the so-called marriage penalty. That version, expected to reduce taxes on some couples about $206 billion
over the next decade, would have kept about 13 million couples from losing part or all of their tax cuts to the alternative minimum tax, a levy originally intended to keep wealthy individuals from sheltering their income but increasingly trapping middle-income families.
Democrats also proposed off-setting the cost of their tax cuts by
imposing a 3.6 percent surtax on couples earning $1 million or more. Those couples would still pay less than they did before Bush's tax cuts, Democrats said.
John Tanner (D-Tenn.) said future generations could expect to pay higher taxes due to today's tax cuts and budget deficits.
"You all are witnessing a generational mugging," he said.
Background checks begin on possible running mates
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Democrat John Kerry's campaign has begun background checks of top running mate prospects, including former rivals Dick Gephardt and John Edwards, while other hopefuls anxiously await word that they're worthy of a Washington "vetting."
Getting Several Democratic officials
familiar with the selection process said yesterday that background checks had been under way for several weeks.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said individuals other than Gephardt and Edwards were under consideration, but they would not identify them — nor say how many there were.
The candidates are known only by Kerry, a handful of advisers and a team of lawyers conducting background checks that are described as unusually thorough.
One Democrat mentioned as a favorite of several Kerry advisers, if not necessarily the candidate himself, is Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.
But officials said it was unclear whether the campaign had begun a background check — called "vetting" in Washington parlance.
Judging by the cases of Gephardt and Edwards, the selection process may be farther along than previously thought. Still, campaign officials said Kerry would not make his choice anytime soon.
"There is certainly a good argument for waiting — to bring an element of excitement into the presidential convention in July," said Anita Dunn, a Democratic strategist who
does not work for Kerry.
"On the other hand, the White House has the luxury of sending Vice President Cheney out in the traditional role of attack dog while letting the president deliver a positive message, which forces Kerry to try to figure out who he's going to answer on a given day," Dunn said. "Kerry may want help."
Besides Vilsack, several top
Democratic officeholders are preparing for a background check — either because they've been told by the Kerry team to expect one or they hope to be subjected to the process.
Vice presidential "vetting" is a status symbol in Washington, so much so that politicians have been known to claim they're on the list even if they're not.
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