Today, under considerable pressure from Democrats and even some Republicans, the House leadership pulled H.R. 1956, a special interest bill that would have forced states to limit their assessment of corporate income taxes. The bill was an unquestionable unfunded mandate on the states, as the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reported “the costs – in the form of foregone revenues – to state and local governments would exceed $1 billion in the first full year after enactment and would likely grow to about $3 billion, annually..” I have been around long enough to remember that the GOP came to power promising to return power to the states, not the other way around.
Aside from being hypocritical, the bill -- which came through the House Judiciary Committee -- would make it far more difficult for our hard pressed state and local governments to fund such critical needs as homeland security. The International Association of Firefighters told us in no uncertain terms that H.R. 1956 “would hinder government’s ability to generate the revenue needed for public safety services .... At a time when demands on local public safety agencies are being stretched to the breaking point, such a significant decrease in revenue would have a severely detrimental impact on fire protection and other essential services.” I guess the Republicans missed the memo that we need to support local law enforcement and safety officers.
For a change, let me commend today’s editorial in
The Washington Post, highlighting the many flaws in this special interest bill. I don’t think it will come back before the August recess, but would not be surprised to see a renewed push in the fall, maybe after the elections when nobody is looking.
http://www.conyersblog.us/Another Corporate Tax Break?
A federal tax cut using state dollars is a bad idea.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/24/AR2006072400980.html
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