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[Figas]

Bush Signals No Need for Further Tax Cuts


Wednesday, August 13, 2003 1:08 p.m. ET

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President Bush said on Wednesday tax cuts already enacted would be enough to boost economic growth, signaling he would not seek a new round of tax cuts in the near term.

"This administration is optimistic about job creation," Bush told reporters at his ranch in Texas after meeting with top economic advisers. "As of this moment ... the plans we have in place are robust enough to create jobs."

Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited.

[Figas]

Bush Gathers Economic Team in Texas to Tout Tax Cut

Wednesday, August 13, 2003 2:44 a.m. ET


By Christina Ling

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President Bush will gather top advisers at his ranch on Wednesday to talk up his efforts to boost the economy and try to come up with an election-year strategy to counter Democratic charges his policies are putting the country on the road to ruin.

No major new initiatives are likely to be put forward beyond already enacted tax cuts, which Democrats desperate to win back the executive mansion in 2004 say do far more harm than good by driving the federal debt into the stratosphere.

Treasury Secretary John Snow, Commerce Secretary Don Evans, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, budget director Joshua Bolten, the president's top economic advisor Stephen Friedman, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and others will meet Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

"The president is very committed to the economy, to working to boost economic growth, to create jobs for every American who wants a job," White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan told reporters on Tuesday.

"He did propose some very aggressive and bold actions to address those issues earlier this year which have just been enacted and are just beginning to really flow through to the economy."

The Bush administration credits his $350 billion package of corporate dividend tax cuts and business investment incentives passed earlier this year for the unexpectedly brisk 2.4 percent annual growth rate recorded for the economy in the second quarter, up from 1.4 percent in the first quarter.

But analysts say that is still below the pace needed to create jobs, more than 2 million of which have disappeared from the U.S. economy since Bush became president in January, 2001.

Bush still hopes to get provisions left out of this year's tax cut bill, such as $3,000 "re-employment accounts," passed by Congress, and contentious energy legislation lawmakers will try to finalize when they reconvene in September.

Buchan said the economic team would also discuss other measures Bush believes are necessary to create the momentum for job creation, including limits on damage awards to lawsuit plaintiffs and spending restraints.

But Democrats lining up as 2004 challengers say Bush's tax cuts, which they claim are skewed toward the wealthy, have done far less to create jobs and stimulate the economy than measures to help low- and middle-income Americans would have done.

And they blame the reappearance of federal budget deficits on Bush's watch, projected to be $455 billion this year, on the tax cuts, saying they jeopardize the country's fiscal credibility as well as prospects for future investment and economic growth.

The spending restraints the White House is aiming for will also be difficult to achieve while efforts to maintain security in Iraq and rebuild the war-shattered country continue. The United States is currently spending some $4 billion a month on its mission there.



Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited.