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Delay Tax Cuts, Says Gingrich

Tuesday, March 18, 1997

Deloitte & Touche OnLine

House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., March 17 endorsed the idea of delaying tax cuts until the federal government’s books are brought into balance.

"Let’s take tax cuts away for a moment. Let’s just talk about balancing the budget. Now what’s the liberal excuse for not balancing the budget?" Gingrich said to reporters. Immediate tax cuts are a prominent part of the GOP agenda, and President Clinton’s proposed fiscal 1998 budget.

Putting off tax cuts was first proposed in GOP circles, when House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, broached the subject in an interview with the Washington Times last week.

The idea was quickly rejected by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss.; House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer, R-Texas; Senate Finance Committee Chairman William Roth, R-Del.; and other Republicans.

The disagreement among congressional Republicans could be a temporary situation that will be forgotten once all the GOP eggs are neatly lined in their carton.

Nevertheless, the disagreement suggests a weakened position of GOP leaders. Gingrich’s position as leader of the House and the conservative movement was hurt by the scandal involving his tax-exempt organization. Lott, on the other hand, is playing a new role as leader and is still learning his new role, which he assumed when then-Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., left Congress to run for the White House. As a result, many members of Congress are acting more independently than in the past when the party was relatively unified, perhaps like young children testing a new step-parent.

The split among Republicans also exemplifies the differences between party moderates, who believe the government’s books should be balanced, and tried-and-true conservatives, who oppose an activist federal government and the high tax rates that go along with it.