Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) joined his voice with other Republicans who are seeking to re-evaluate plans to pass additional new tax cuts after Hurricane Katrina. Voinovich told reporters at a press conference this afternoon he believed the government needed more money to pay all of its priorities and obligations and because of that hoped "we won't hear any more about making tax cuts permanent." While Voinovich did not call for specific tax increases, his decision to speak out against the accepted and irrational GOP policy of "starving the beast" through tax cuts at any time shows great vision and leadership. Let's hope other in Congress, Democrats and Republicans, follow his lead.

Advocates of estate tax repeal have been scrambling in the weeks following Hurricane Katrina since a vote on repeal was postponed in the Senate and the repeal agenda has been knocked off the front burner in Congress. But now it appears those forces have reached a level of desperation not yet seen in this debate. Time.com reported over the weekend that Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and other pro-repeal advocates are scouring the Gulf Coast for victims of the Hurricane they can take advantage of to further their political goals of repealing the estate tax. The article quotes Sessions as saying, "If we knew anybody that owned a business that lost life in the storm, that would be something we could push back with." Senator Sessions - a Senator from one of the states hardest hit by Katrina - and others involved in pushing such misguided priorities of favoring a few millionaires at the expense of the public good after a natural disaster of these proportions need to re-evaluate their positions. It's even more despicable to be seeking to take advantage of someone who lost their life in such a tragedy to further political agendas. Senator Sessions should be concentrating on helping all those whose lives were ruined in Alabama after the hurricane - not just a handful of multi-millionaires.

In his remarks to the nation Sept. 15, President Bush said the federal government would be responsible for "the great majority" of the costs of repairing public infrastructure in the Gulf Coast. Government spending in the aftermath of the disaster could reach proportions not seen since the country was hit by the Great Depression, and many are predicting spending could top $200 billion. Economic analysts are predicting the deficit for FY 2006 could easily out-do the record deficit of $412 billion reached last year. Deficit spending is not always necessarily harmful; in fact if done correctly it can serve to revitilize regions of the country all while spreading the cost over a number of years. However, the problem with extreme deficit-financed spending right now is that the government will be borrowing all while continuing to uphold -- and push for more -- tax cuts for the rich. As this New York Times editorial points out, "The problem is that the United States was deep in hock before Katrina." The fact that tax cuts are on the agenda as well as massive spending is "breaking the bank for our descendants, while impairing our ability to borrow responsibly today." If the government plans on taking a fiscally responsible approach while spending "unprecedented amounts" in the aftermath of Katrina, they will need to cease pursuing tax cuts for the wealthy by allowing the dividends and capital gains cuts to expire in 2008 (instead of extending them), and they will also need to suspend some tax breaks scheduled to go into effect in 2006 (for more on this, see this CBPP report). The priorities of the administration and Congress need to change, or else current and future tax payers can expect to be hit with a large bill -- a bill either in the form of higher taxes and/or severe cuts in government programs.

Last night President Bush unveiled his initial ideas about plans for reconstruction of the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The president did not mention how much he expected this to cost, how he thought the country should pay for it, or what sacrifices he expected citizens to make to help out with the efforts. Congress has already approved over $60 billion for emergency relief efforts, with another emergency supplemental expected sometime in October. The large amount of existing spending plus vague, but potentially costly plans for reconstructions has some members of Congress once again worried about deficits. Before the president addressed the nation last night, fiscally conservative members of the House and Senate held a press conference with government watchdog groups asking the President to reign in federal spending for Gulf Coast states decimated by Katrina. Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK), John McCain (R-AZ), Jim DeMint (R-SC), and Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) led the calls for fiscal restraint. Sen. McCain stated, "We know this is a huge bill and we don't want to lay it on future generations and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) commented after the president's speech, "for every dollar we spend on this, it is going to take a little bit longer to balance the budget." But cutting relief and reconstruction efforts, or other parts of the budget is not the right answer. It is budget cuts and underinvestment that played a part in making the impact of Katrina so much worse along much of the Gulf Coast. If those conservatives are truly concerned about balancing the federal budget and not passing on debts to future generations (and not simply shrinking the size of government), they need to look at more than simply reducing federal spending - they need to reconsider the incredible number of tax cuts passed over the past five years that have driven government revenues to its lowest level in 50 years. Countless projections and estimates (see here, here, here, and here) show the combination of massive tax cuts and current policies leading to decades of unsustainable, deep, and persistent deficits. In order to truly address consistent budget deficits, and to pay for not only the relief and reconstruction efforts in the Gulf Coast, but also long-term preventative investments in the infrastrucure and people of America, the President and Congress must reverse some of the tax cuts passed over the past five years.