Slaughter

Slaughter

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vote, and by Monday evening, aftep hours of back-room lobbying, a simi lar package won the Senate’s apprdr val.

According to the Associated Press, President Bush has indicated to Republican lawmakers that he ii> tends to sign the compromise budget agreement into law.

Congressman Slaughter said h$ based his objection, and his vote, on the tax increases included in th$ budget, without which the Federal government would have shut down* The package approved by the Con* gress includes an increase in the tai rate paid by the most affluent, fa} vored by the Democrats, in ex} change for a cut in the tax rate on capital gains, which President Buslt has repeatedly stated he supports. ]

Registering his objection to th^ package, Rep. Slaughter said, “I d<J not understand why this budget package provides for more than $68 billion in new spending when we an} trying to bring down a deficit that ig estimated to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 billion.”

“On top of that,” the Congress} man continued, “those who are ar} ranging these budget package^ continue to insist that recessionary tax increases (they seem to be esti* mated anywhere from $119 billion id nearly $140 billion) are somehow nol[ going to negatively impact our weakened economy. *

“My constituents are not under? taxed, the Federal government spends too much, and I find it impos* sible to justify voting for tax in* creases on hard-working families when the government has more thaA a trillion dollars to spend.”

Rep. Slaughter’s opponent in his bid for a fourth term, Democrat D£ vid M. Smith of Winchester, said h£ supports approval of the continuing resolution to allow goverment funotions to continue. J

As for Mr. Smith’s position on the latest compromise, Mr. Woodward said, “We’ll just have to wag. and see how the pain is spread around.”