| DEMOCRATIC PROMISE #53: Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax
Promise: “[T]he Wyden-Emanuel tax reform plan… eliminates the Alternative Minimum Tax...” –The Plan, Rahm Emanuel & Bruce Reed, Page 138
Broken Promise: “House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D., N.Y.) is believed to be considering a permanent exemption for households below a given income level, rather than repealing the AMT altogether, as some lawmakers have proposed.” –“Alternative Minimum Tax; Rein It In,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 16, 2007. Six months after taking power in Congress, Democrats have yet to move legislation of any kind to repeal or reform the AMT – a tax Democrats created.
DEMOCRATIC PROMISE #54: Make AMT Overhaul a “Centerpiece” of their Budget
Promise: “Democratic leaders this week vowed to make the alternative minimum tax a centerpiece of next year’s budget debate...” –“Alternative Minimum Tax Targeted,” Washington Post, November 11, 2006
Broken Promise: “Democratic leaders have made overhauling the AMT a top priority, but they have yet to lay out a plan …” – “Budget Plan Wipes Out Deficit But Leaves $50 Billion Dilemma,” Washington Post, March 29, 2007
DEMOCRATIC PROMISE #55: Reform Entitlement Spending to Protect Future Generations
Promise: “This summer, Office of Management and Budget Director Rob Portman said the administration would return to entitlements and taxes in earnest following the elections. Senior Democrats on the House & Senate budget committees, Sen. Kent Conrad (N.D.) and Rep. John Spratt (S.C.), responded by saying Congress, not the administration, must drive those efforts.” – “Bush, Democrats Face Legislative Opportunities and Obstacles,” The Hill, November 9, 2006
Broken Promise: “But the [Democratic budget] plan puts off tough and divisive decisions … [Democrats] did not include proposals to control the growth of entitlement programs that are projected to swamp the rest of the budget in coming decades as the baby-boom generation retires.” – “House Democrats Narrowly Pass Budget Test,” Congressional Quarterly, March 29, 2007
Broken Promise: “[The Democratic budget] does nothing to curtail runaway entitlement spending.” – “Prepare for Fiscal Irresponsibility,” Tallahassee Democrat Editorial, April 16, 2007
Broken Promise: “Ignoring experts’ repeated warnings about the unsustainable rate of entitlement spending, the [Democrats’ budget] does nothing, and puts off any major reform for at least 5 years. . .The only “savings” under the expedited procedure of budget reconciliation are a meager $750 million – out of a total of roughly $8.5 trillion in mandatory spending over the next 5 years. The ‘savings’ are really just a fig leaf providing filibuster protection to expand big-government spending by as much as $22 billion. This is not reform, and it does nothing to address the massive entitlement problem.” – House Budget Committee Republican staff, Spring 2007 |