Progress Report: White House 'All Wrong'

[Guest guest]

Thu, 07 Oct 2004 08:52:52 -0700

Progress Report: White House 'All Wrong'

 

" American Progress Action Fund "

<progress

 

The Progress Report

 

by Christy Harvey, Judd Legum and Jonathan Baskin

OCTOBER 7, 2004

 

TAXES The $145 Billion Abomination

IRAQ White House 'All Wrong'

UNDER THE RADAR Go Beyond The Headlines

 

 

TAXES

The $145 Billion Abomination

 

What started as a modest effort in Congress to replace a $5

billion-a-year export subsidy that the WTO ruled was illegal has

turned into a $145 billion, 633-page corporate tax giveaway.

Opportunistic members from both sides of the aisle united and cast

aside fiscal responsibility to reward favored special interests and

score political points in an election year. The bill still requires

final passage by the House and Senate. The one potential bright spot

was a bipartisan agreement to allow the FDA to regulate tobacco in

exchange for a $10 billion buyout of tobacco farmers. But at the

behest of tobacco companies, the provision allowing FDA regulation of

their products was stripped out by Congressional negotiators. (The $10

billion buyout stayed in.) Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) called the bill " a

disgrace " and " a complete sellout to the tobacco companies. " At the

urging of corporate lobbyists, lawmakers inserted so many last-minute

changes " it will take weeks if not months for even the most skilled

tax experts to identify all the deals that took place. " Here are some

highlights:

 

$27.9 BILLION FOR CORPORATIONS THAT EARN PROFITS ABROAD: The bill

would allow corporations that have accumulated billions in untaxed

overseas profits to bring the money back to the United States at a

fraction of the normal tax rate. Even Treasury Secretary John Snow

admits the provision discriminates " against companies that don't have

large overseas operations. " It would be a $20 billion windfall for

giant corporations like Hewlett-Packard and Eli-Lilly. A separate

provision would change the way overseas profits are calculated – at a

total cost of $7.9 billion – saving General Electric Co. alone

hundreds of millions of dollars.

 

$101 MILLION FOR NASCAR: The bill makes technical changes in the tax

treatment of grandstand facilities, which will be worth $101 million

to race track owners struggling to make ends meet.

 

$44 MILLION FOR IMPORTERS OF CHINESE CEILING FANS: The bill suspends a

4.7 percent duty on ceiling fans through 2006, a provision that

primarily benefits Home Depot. Lobbyists for Home Depot also had the

provision inserted into the administration's energy bill, but that

bill failed to clear Congress.

 

$28 MILLION FOR CRUISE SHIP OPERATORS: A provision in the bill would

allow cruise ship operators to delay paying taxes for certain

products. The delay is worth $15 million for Carnival Corp. and $8 to

$10 million for Royal Caribbean.

 

$27 MILLION FOR HORSE AND DOG GAMBLERS: The bill exempts foreign

gamblers from paying taxes up front on their winnings at horse and dog

tracks.

 

$11 MILLION FOR FISHING TACKLE BOX MANUFACTURES: Excise taxes on

tackle boxes would be reduced from 10 percent to 3 percent. One of the

biggest beneficiaries would be Plano Molding Co. – which just happens

to be headquartered in House Speaker Dennis Hastert's district.

 

$9 MILLION FOR BOW AND ARROW MANUFACTURES: The bill eliminates taxes

on " youth bows " that are not powerful enough to be used for hunting.

It also reduces taxes for a device – called a broadhead – that is

attached to the tips of arrows.

 

THE " REVENUE NEUTRAL " MYTH: The legislation is billed as revenue

neutral because its proponents claim that tax cuts are off-set by

closing other tax loopholes. But " the full costs have been glossed

over and disguised by delaying the starting date of some provisions

and scheduling others to end after several years. " The Washington Post

notes, " once Congress passes a tax break, lawmakers typically extend

it when it comes up for renewal. "

 

IRAQ

White House 'All Wrong'

 

Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction. Iraq's

illicit weapons stockpiles were destroyed more than a decade ago and

Saddam was not making any active effort and had no formal plans to

revive the program. The top American weapons inspector in Iraq,

Charles A. Duelfer, yesterday released a 1,000-page report that also

found Saddam's ability to produce weapons of mass destruction had

" decayed " significantly due to the U.N. weapons inspection regime. The

report is a devastating critique. Sen. John D. Rockefeller (D-WV)

said, " The administration would like the American public to believe

that Saddam's intention to build a weapons program, regardless of

actual weapons or the capability to produce weapons, justified

invading Iraq....In fact, we invaded a country, thousands of people

have died, and Iraq never posed a grave or growing danger.'' Appearing

before the Senate yesterday, Duelfer summed his findings: " we were

almost all wrong " on Iraq.

 

NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS: With a string of false claims, the White House

played up the threat to justify the invasion of Iraq, warning of an

armed and dangerous Saddam with his sights set on America. On 3/24/02,

Vice President Cheney definitively stated, " [saddam] is actively

pursuing nuclear weapons at this time. " A year later, on 3/16/03, he

charged, " We believe Saddam has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear

weapons. " National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice was equally as

adamant: On 9/10/02, she said, " We do know that [saddam] is actively

pursuing a nuclear weapon. " Duelfer's report showed these claims were

flatly false.

 

NO CHEMICAL OR BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS: The Duelfer report found " no

indications " that Iraq was doing this. There was no staff, no

infrastructure, and there even was " a complete absence of discussion

or even interest " in biological weapons. The administration, however,

used Saddam's supposed stockpiles of biological weapons as another

justification for the invasion. In just one example, Secretary of

Defense Donald Rumsfeld provided the Senate Armed Services committee

with a specific laundry list on 9/19/02: " [saddam has] amassed large,

clandestine stockpiles of biological weapons, including Anthrax,

botulism, toxins and possibly smallpox. He's amassed large,

clandestine stockpiles of chemical weapons, including VX, Sarin and

mustard gas. " President Bush also said on 10/5/02, " Iraq has

stockpiled biological and chemical weapons and is rebuilding the

facilities used to make more of those weapons. "

 

NO WEAPONS " PROGRAM " : After the invasion, the White House changed its

tune, stating the real reason for the war was that Saddam had a

weapons program. On 7/11/03, Condoleezza Rice stated, " Iraqis were

actively trying to pursue a nuclear weapons program. " Mr. Duelfer

said, " Saddam Hussein ended the nuclear program in 1991 following the

Gulf War. " American inspectors " found no evidence to suggest concerted

efforts to restart the program. " In fact, one U.S. official briefing

reporters on the report stated, " Over time, Hussein was getting

further away from a nuclear program, not closer. In point of fact, he

was much further away from a nuclear program in 2003 than he was in 1991. "

 

NO SHARING WITH TERRORISTS: The Duelfer report found " no evidence that

Hussein had passed illicit weapons material to al Qaeda or other

terrorist organizations, or had any intent to do so. " As the New York

Times points out, " Even if Mr. Hussein had wanted to arm groups he

could not control – a very dubious notion – he had nothing to give

them. " Yet yesterday, after the release of the report, he said, " There

was a risk – a real risk – that Saddam Hussein would pass weapons, or

materials, or information to terrorist networks. In the world after

September the 11th, that was a risk we could not afford to take. "

 

SADDAM WAS CONTAINED: Duelfer found U.N. sanctions provided an

" economic strangle hold " which successfully worked to keep Saddam from

rebuilding or developing any weapons for twelve years. And the

Washington Post reminds readers, " the inspectors left not because Iraq

kicked them out but because the United States said it was about to

launch an invasion and their safety could not be guaranteed. " But in a

speech in Pennsylvania yesterday, President Bush said Saddam Hussein

" chose defiance and war [and] our coalition enforced the just demands

of the world. " The report actually shows the opposite, that the power

of nonviolent international sanctions was working.

 

 

Under the Radar

 

ECONOMY – MORE " FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS " FILED BY BUSINESSES THAN AGAINST

THEM: Yesterday, President Bush said " frivolous lawsuits " and " trial

lawyers " were a " threat to our economy " because they weigh down

American businesses. A new report by Public Citizen says otherwise. In

fact, " American businesses file four times as many lawsuits as do

individuals represented by trial attorneys, and they are penalized by

judges much more often for pursuing frivolous litigation. " A survey in

parts of four different states found that in 2001, businesses were 3.3

to 5.8 times more likely to file lawsuits than were individuals. The

findings come as " businesses and politicians are campaigning to limit

citizens' rights to sue over everything from medical malpractice

damages to defective products. By way of comparison, the number of

American consumers (281 million) outnumbers the number of businesses

in America (7 million) by 40 times. "

 

IRAQ – FOLLOWING THE MONEY: The U.S. State Department said Wednesday

that " Less than seven percent of the $18.4 billion that Congress

approved last year to rebuild Iraq has been spent, " affirming that

" the U.S. effort to speed an Iraqi economic recovery is lagging well

behind initial plans. " More than half the money actually spent – $623

million – is for security and law enforcement projects. Nevertheless,

the security situation remains so bad in most of the country – U.S.

officials raised the security alert even in the heavily guarded Green

Zone yesterday – that the administration has been forced to transfer

$3.46 billion of the original $18.4 billion from crucial

reconstruction projects to meet security needs. The Washington Post

reported earlier this week that " As little as 27 cents of every dollar

spent on Iraq's reconstruction has actually filtered down to projects

benefiting Iraqis. " CSIS breaks down the spending of U.S. dollars in Iraq.

 

ETHICS – DELAY REBUKED AGAIN: For the second time in the last week and

the third time overall, " The House ethics committee last night

admonished Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX). " This time, the House's

second-ranking Republican was chastised " for asking federal aviation

officials to track an airplane involved in a Texas political spat, and

for conduct that suggested political donations might influence

legislative action. " The bipartisan committee " voted unanimously on

the findings, " and concluded a seven-page letter to DeLay by

referencing the extraordinary " number of instances to date in which

the committee has found it necessary to comment on conduct in which

you have engaged. " Nevertheless, the committee " said it will take no

action on the matter 'pending further action' concerning the

indictments or the Texas-based investigation that prompted them. "

DeLay dismissed the findings as the fruit of a vast left-wing conspiracy.

 

DEBATE – CHENEY NOT PRESIDING VERY OFTEN: Vice President Cheney led

into his now discredited claim that he had never met Sen. Edwards

before debate night by saying, " Now, in my capacity as vice president,

I am the president of Senate, the presiding officer. I'm up in the

Senate most Tuesdays when they're in session. " Actually, according to

congressional records compiled on Daily Kos, Cheney has " presided over

the Senate a grand total of two times the past four years. " That's

just as many times as…John Edwards. In other news relating to things

Cheney said which have no basis in fact, Sen. Edwards's hometown

paper, The News & Observer, responded to the vice president's charge

it had " taken to calling [Edwards] Senator Gone. " An archive search

found " no such reference in The News & Observer. "

 

DEBATE – FACTCHECK.ORG STRIKES BACK: " After Democratic nominee John

Edwards raised some nasty allegations about Halliburton Corp., the

company Cheney once ran, Cheney angrily responded to the 'false'

charges, " directing viewers to FactCheck.com for the details. Cheney

had his, um, facts wrong – the site he meant was FactCheck.org. But

Factcheck.org may be no more helpful to Cheney's cause. " Cheney

wrongly implied that we had rebutted allegations Edwards was making

about what Cheney had done as chief executive officer of Halliburton, "

the Annenberg site wrote in a posting yesterday. " In fact, we did post

an article pointing out that Cheney hasn't profited personally while

in office from Halliburton's Iraq contracts, as falsely implied by a

Kerry TV ad. But Edwards was talking about Cheney's responsibility for

earlier Halliburton troubles. And in fact, Edwards was mostly right. "