Wednesday, March 26, 2003 | 8:52 a.m.
It was encouraging Tuesday when the U.S. Senate voted to reduce the president's $726 billion tax-cut package by about half, to $350 billion. Some of the moderate Democrats and Republicans who provided the swing votes in the 51-48 vote cited their concerns about the costs of the war in Iraq, which the Bush administration says initially will cost $75 billion, and the growing federal deficit, which likely will reach $400 billion this year. What makes the action in the Senate all the more significant is that it comes less than a week after a similar proposal was defeated in a 62-38 vote.
The House already has passed Bush's plan intact. Still, the margin the vote passed by in the lower chamber was razor-thin: 215 to 212. It's obvious that there isn't overwhelming enthusiasm for Bush's plan. Indeed, as time passes, support for the president's tax cuts is eroding. The Bush plan is aimed at providing tax breaks largely for the wealthy in a way unlikely to stimulate the economy. Now isn't the time to toss money to the wealthy as the federal government's budget is ballooning and the costs to fight the war in Iraq are expanding.
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