Reid, Bryan blast GOP tax cuts; Reid says Nevadans “Aren’t Stupid”

SCOTT SONNER

Friday, July 30, 1999 | 5:22 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - Democratic Sen. Harry Reid said Friday that Nevadans would rather spend budget surpluses to trim the federal debt and won't be fooled by majority Republicans pushing tax cuts instead.

"The American people, the people of Nevada do not want a tax cut first," the Senate minority whip said Friday.

"The people of Nevada aren't stupid. They understand we have to pay down a $5 trillion debt," he told reporters during a teleconference call after the Senate voted 57-43 in favor of a $792 billion tax cut.

Reid and Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., voted against the bill. Bryan said it was a "highly reckless and irresponsible approach."

"I think the responsible course of action is to save Social Security, ensure the solvency of Medicare, pay down the national debt, and then provide for a modest and realistic tax cut," Bryan said.

But Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said Friday the Nevada Democrats were misreading their constituents. He said most Nevadans are in dire need of tax relief.

"People in Nevada sent me to Congress to help lower their tax burden," Gibbons said in a telephone interview.

"I think high taxes are the big reason our Nevada families are so stressed out today. They are working harder and longer just to pay the tax man," he said.

Bryan, in a Senate floor speech earlier this week, acknowledged the political appeal of cutting taxes.

"I understand the instant gratification and I understand that if in a roomful of good and hardworking Americans you asked, 'Would you like to pay less tax?' all of us would say yes,"' he said.

But the two-term senator who announced his retirement effective next year said the recent arrival of two grandchildren with a third on the way has given him a better long-range perspective on U.S. finances.

"My thoughts are not with respect to instant gratification, not the kind of political rhetoric 'We want to return your money to you.'

"What about my grandchildren and your grandchildren? Ought we not to think about them? Our generation doesn't have a particularly impressive track record running up a national debt that tripled in less than a decade," he said.

Reid said Friday he was willing to support as much as a $300 billion tax cut that was targeted to stimulate the economy, including tax credits for the high-tech industry.

He said that would require a freeze on discretionary, domestic spending. He said the GOP plan approved Friday would require a 40 percent cut in domestic spending.

"To send a political message, they try to lock in tax cuts in the out years... The 25 percent they are paying for tax cuts come from Social Security surpluses," Reid said Friday.

"If we get (the federal debt) paid down, there should be a tax cut for everybody, rich and poor alike, not just a tax cut for the rich, which is what this one is," he said.

"It is dead. The president will veto it."

The Senate plan would reduce the 15 percent tax bracket to 14 percent, ease the so-called marriage penalty, reduce estate taxes and increase contribution limits for Individual Retirement Accounts. The cornerstone of the House plan, which also totals $792 billion, is a 10 percent across-the-board cut in tax rates.

Gibbons said he hopes the House bill prevails in a House-Senate conference committee and Reid said he anticipated that was what would happen.

"If the president decides to veto this bill in face of the fact taxpaying Americans are putting $3 trillion too much in to the federal government, he bears that responsibility," Gibbons said.

"If this president suggests we can't afford to cut income taxes when we are running a $3 trillion surplus, then we have reentered the era of big government," the Republican congressman said.