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Delegation willing to back stimulus package Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 By Aaron Sadler Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - Arkansas lawmakers on Tuesday pledged to support a bill in the works to aimed at reviving the sluggish economy. But they vary on what the economic stimulus package should look like. "I don't think there's any silver bullet," said Rep. Mike Ross, D-Prescott. "We have to look at all the options on the table to help lower- to moderate-income working families." Congress returned from a month-long recess with the economy as its top priority. Unemployment, a home mortgage crisis and high fuel prices have the economy sliding toward recession. President Bush has proposed a plan that costs between $140 billion to $150 billion, about 1 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. His plan seeks tax cuts for individuals and businesses along with one-time tax rebate checks. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., said tax rebates for consumers will spark a round of spending to prop up the economy. Working families account for 70 percent of GDP, said Lincoln, a member the Senate Finance Committee. That committee met to discuss the issue Tuesday. Lincoln said incentives for small businesses such as accelerated depreciation for equipment and providing more flexibility for nontaxable business expenses are possible. "The small businesses are the ones that are going to generate the jobs and the consumers who spend the money are the ones that give corporate America a better bottom line," she said. The Bush administration suggested rebates of $800 per person and $1,600 per married couple, an amount supported by Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers. Boozman, too, said he would make permanent tax cuts set to expire in two years. The state's lone Republican in Congress also said he thinks any stimulus package should include business tax credit. "I would like to be in a situation where we stimulate consumption," Boozman said. "But thinking long-term, there are investment-type tax credits for business to try to bolster investments in businesses." Incentives targeted toward the beleaguered housing market should be considered, said Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark. Pryor said any tax cuts, especially corporate tax cuts, should be temporary. "An overall general tax cut on the corporate tax rate may not have that strong a stimulus," Pryor said. "We should really be focused on the fundamentals of our economy. My thought would be just do this for maybe a year ... Let's focus on the needs we have right now." Any try at a quick economic fix would increase the federal deficit, an increase not unnoticed by congressional budget hawks like Ross and Rep. Marion Berry, D-Gillett. Both men are members of the Blue Dog Coalition, a loose organization of fiscally conservative Democrats. The Blue Dogs last year led implementation of a "pay as you go" rules that require any spending increase to be offset by budget cuts or tax hikes. Ross said he would be willing to set aside pay-as-you-go, or to extend the rule on the stimulus package for five years. "What's important here is jump-starting the economy," Ross said. Ross' fear is that others will attempt to load up the stimulus package with different spending measures. On the other hand, Berry said he couldn't commit to waiving pay-as-you-go until he knew more about the specifics of legislation yet to be developed. On Tuesday, Berry criticized the Bush administration for a growing deficit and a national debt that contributed to the country's economic woes to start with, he said. "If $100 billion or $150 billion solves our problem, then we don't have a problem," Berry said. "This is a far greater problem than that." Berry said a couple of health-care fixes could help the economy. He supports permitting the reimportation of prescription drugs from Canada and said Americans should be allowed the same health insurance coverage as federal employees. Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Little Rock, was not available for comment Tuesday. |
