June 18, 1997

In recent days, President Clinton has begun complaining that the tax relief bills making their way through Congress provide too much tax relief and not enough welfare spending. This contradicts the President’s past position on the issue. It misrepresents the facts, as well. In short, Clinton seems all too eager to break the budget deal just to score political points with his base.

Clinton’s Never Been a Fan of Middle-Class Tax Cuts

• Clinton promised middle-class tax cuts in the 1992 campaign, yet he hiked taxes by $240 billion in 1993, proposed hiking them again the next year to pay for government-run healthcare, and he vetoed tax cuts in 1995.
• With that record, it’s not surprising Clinton would be prejudiced against tax cuts now.

What’s Surprising is Clinton’s Latest Excuse for Opposition

• Clinton never proposed what he’s asking for now: Making the $500 per child tax credit refundable.
• He did not request it in the budget negotiations that produced this year’s budget agreement. He did not propose it in any previous budget.

What is a Refundable Tax Credit? It’s Welfare

• What does a refundable tax credit mean? It means taking money from those who pay taxes to write checks to those who don’t. Most people call that Welfare.
• This isn’t glib rhetoric: a refundable tax credit means giving someone more money back than they paid in taxes. Middle-class taxpayers need to know this goes on.

Already More than Enough Welfare Spending

• While he didn’t ask for this welfare program, Clinton did request additional welfare spending in the budget negotiations.
• Clinton in fact is now demanding that Congress undo the Welfare Reform bill he signed last year.
• While Congress managed to preserve the fundamental reforms of that monumental law, we did add back $14.2 billion in welfare spending, as a result of the President’s insistence. That’s more than enough.
• Yet, again Bill Clinton is trying to break the budget deal: He’s asking for still more than was agreed to in welfare spending and, therefore, less than was agreed to on tax cuts.
• The budget agreement will spend $1.2 trillion on welfare over the next five years — that’s $15 billion more than the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had projected.

Tax Relief Versus Still More Welfare Spending: Let Americans Decide

• The $85 billion tax cut is just a third of Clinton’s $240 billion 1993 tax hike — the largest tax hike ever.
• The $85 billion in tax relief over five years equals just 7 percent of the budget’s $1.2 trillion in welfare spending.
• The budget’s $1.2 trillion in welfare spending over five years is 14 times greater than the $85 billion in tax relief.

The Wait for Tax Relief Already Has Been Too Long

• It’s been five years since Clinton began promising a tax cut he never delivered.
• It’s been four years since America began paying a tax hike Clinton never revealed.
• It’s been three years since Clinton proposed tax hikes to pay for government-run healthcare.
• It’s been two years since Clinton vetoed Congress’s tax cut bill.
• It’s been one year since Bill Clinton agreed to end welfare as we know it.
• Taxpayers deserve real tax relief: Don’t let Bill Clinton hijack your tax cut.

[See chart below on welfare spending in the Senate’s Reconciliation mark]

Senate Finance Welfare Spending (Reconciliation Mark)

(in billions)

Totals: FYs 1998-2002

Food Stamps..................................$137.1

NOTE: The Senate Budget Committee estimates that the 5-year total represents $15 billion over baseline.