Friday, October 22, 2004
Yet Another Bush Tax Giveaway
This story speaks for itself:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Without fanfare, President Bush signed into law on Friday a nearly $140 billion corporate tax cut bill derided by both Democratic presidential rival John Kerry and Republican Sen. John McCain as a giveaway to special interests.
Bush signed the measure into law aboard Air Force One en route to a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, forgoing a public signing ceremony that would have attracted attention to the tax cuts less than two weeks before Election Day.
The White House had marked the signing of Bush's other major tax bills with lavish public ceremonies. This one was marked with a one-paragraph statement by the press secretary.
Asked why there was no signing ceremony for the corporate tax bill, White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said: "There are a variety of ways the president signs legislation."
The corporate tax bill aims to end a trade fight with the European Union by repealing U.S. export tax subsidies that violate global trade rules.
But the $140 billion in new business tax breaks included many special interest provisions sharply criticized by public interest groups and fiscal conservatives, which congressional aides said explained Bush's decision to sign it in private.
Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican who is campaigning for Bush, had called the measure "the worst example of the influence of special interests that I have ever seen."
