"President Bush has made tax relief a cornerstone of his agenda, and that's good for American families. Tax relief fosters economic growth. The recent testimony of the Federal Reserve chairman along with new, non-partisan forecasts of a growing budget surplus underscore the importance of returning tax dollars to taxpayers and paying down on the national debt. The last two years have proven that surplus dollars left in Washington are frittered away with more government spending.
"As we get to work on a tax relief plan in Congress, my guiding principles are tax fairness and simplification. That means eliminating the marriage penalty, reducing estate taxes, and reducing marginal rates.
"With a projected surplus of $5.6 trillion, including $2.5 trillion set aside for Social Security, there's $3.1 trillion available for tax relief. Clearly, $1.6 trillion in tax relief is a reasonable level given Chairman Greenspan's position, the number of good bipartisan tax cut proposals on the table, the pattern of debt reduction, and the phased in nature of the revenue loss. In terms of the effective date, if we can have some retroactive relief, it would provide some stimulus to our slowing economy."