This Weekend\’s Presidential Action:

This weekend, President Bush travels to California and Oregon to meet with workers hit hard by the recession and to conduct a townhall forum on the economy. The President will again call on the Senate Democratic leadership to pass the bipartisan economic security package that will create jobs and provide assistance to the unemployed, without raising taxes.

The President Welcomes Signs of Movement in the Senate:

  • Spending time at home for the holidays appears to have been good for Senator Daschle. He\’s now knows what President Bush and the American people have known all along – that we need to take steps to ensure our economic security and get the economy growing.
  • While many of the details of Senator Daschle\’s plans won\’t meet his stated goals, the Administration welcomes the Senator\’s newfound interest in the President\’s economic agenda. Unfortunately, many of the issues Senator Daschle expressed support for – economic stimulus, comprehensive energy legislation, opening new markets to America\’s products – are all stalled in the Senate he leads.
  • Nearly one million people have lost their jobs since President Bush first outlined an economic growth package while waiting for the Senate Democratic leadership to act. Senator Daschle appears to have finally reacted to what the American people and the President have long called for – real help to create jobs and to help those who have already lost their jobs.
  • Senator Daschle\’s recipe for "fiscal discipline" is off-base. Surpluses don\’t create growth. Economic growth creates surpluses. That\’s why the President has presented an economic security plan designed to promote economic growth. It\’s troubling that Senator Daschle is suggesting tax increases to pay for billions in new spending that won\’t help our economy grow.
  • While Senator Daschle blames the tax relief legislation enacted with bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate for the decline in the FY 2002 budget surplus, the facts tell a different story. The surplus has declined because our economy has been in recession since March and because we have responded to the attacks of September 11th. In fact, 72 percent of the tax cut\’s effects take place after 2005.
  • In January, CBO forecasted surplus for FY 2002 of $313 billion. Since then, the recession has reduced this figure by $167 billion and new spending has reduced it by $60 billion. Last May\’s tax cut will reduce 2002 revenue by only $38 billion. The impact of the recession is four times greater than the impact of the tax cuts.
  • The American people deserve action on an economic security and job creation agenda – not more partisan posturing – from the Senate leadership.