News
THERE was good news and bad news in the swan song of the 109th Congress, which gaveled to a close over the weekend — and with it, 12 years of Republican control.
The good: A package of tax breaks, credits and incentives totaling $38 billion over five years was sent to President Bush's desk. In addition, the legislation opened up 8.3 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas exploration, also good.
The bad: The GOP's 11th-hour activity wasn't offset on the spending side, so the costs go right into the deficit. "We've met the enemy, and he is us,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H.
In a nutshell, this Congress' last votes symbolized the GOP's 12-year run: good on taxes; not very good on spending. Indeed, the votes of Oklahoma's senators, Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, reflected this split personality. Inhofe voted for the bill; Coburn was among the handful of dissenters.
There's merit in the legislation's tax provisions, which included reviving 20 tax breaks for business research and development and a dozen credits to promote alternative and efficient energy uses. It renewed deductions of up to $4,000 for higher education costs, a deduction for teachers who pay for school supplies out of their own pocket and a deduction for state and local sales taxes in nine states without income taxes.
The offshore drilling provision ends a 25-year ban on exploration in deep waters some 125 miles south of the Florida panhandle. The area is believed to hold 1.26 billion barrels of oil and 5.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. It's a sensible energy move — one we hope foretells congressional willingness to open more domestic reserves to benefit all Americans.
It's expected Bush will sign the legislation. We'd be more enthusiastic if the cost had been offset by spending reductions elsewhere.
The good: A package of tax breaks, credits and incentives totaling $38 billion over five years was sent to President Bush's desk. In addition, the legislation opened up 8.3 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas exploration, also good.
The bad: The GOP's 11th-hour activity wasn't offset on the spending side, so the costs go right into the deficit. "We've met the enemy, and he is us,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H.
In a nutshell, this Congress' last votes symbolized the GOP's 12-year run: good on taxes; not very good on spending. Indeed, the votes of Oklahoma's senators, Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, reflected this split personality. Inhofe voted for the bill; Coburn was among the handful of dissenters.
There's merit in the legislation's tax provisions, which included reviving 20 tax breaks for business research and development and a dozen credits to promote alternative and efficient energy uses. It renewed deductions of up to $4,000 for higher education costs, a deduction for teachers who pay for school supplies out of their own pocket and a deduction for state and local sales taxes in nine states without income taxes.
The offshore drilling provision ends a 25-year ban on exploration in deep waters some 125 miles south of the Florida panhandle. The area is believed to hold 1.26 billion barrels of oil and 5.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. It's a sensible energy move — one we hope foretells congressional willingness to open more domestic reserves to benefit all Americans.
It's expected Bush will sign the legislation. We'd be more enthusiastic if the cost had been offset by spending reductions elsewhere.
