Bush Tax Cuts, Which Cost Twice As Much As Healthcare Reform, Were Passed Through Reconciliation

[Emit]

Just three months after Bush was inaugurated, On March 26, 2001, the GOP passed a $1.9 trillion tax cut using Reconciliation. The tax cut bill was twice the size of the health care proposal.

The Bush & Co. and the GOP Congress then passed the following additional reconciliation measures:

:redbox: The 2003 Bush Tax Cuts HR 2, on 3/23/03
:redbox: The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (Pub.L. 108-173, 117 Stat. 2066, also called Medicare Modernization Act or MMA)
:redbox: Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, HR 4297, on 5/11/06
:redbox: The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, H. Con Res. 95, on 12/21/05


Sources:
http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/study-bush-tax-cuts-cost-more-twice-m
http://killfile.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/26/3953500-fact-the-bush-tax-cuts-which-cost-twice-as-much-as-healthcare-reform-were-passed-through-reconciliation
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/02/facts_and_figures.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/01/specter-democrats-must-us_n_444826.html
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/03/24/budget-reconciliation/
http://xpostfactoid.blogspot.com/2010/02/factcheckorg-misleads-on-reconciliation.html

[SpiralHawk]

1. "We need MORE tax cuts for rich republicons." - Republicons (R)

[SpiralHawk]

4. "More, more, more Tax cuts for the rich." - Rush DraftDodger Limbaugh (R)

"Now we're talking. Smirk." - Rush DraftDodger Limbaugh (R - $40 million-a-year Chief Republicon Propagandist)

[Emit]

9. I propose a new rule at DU

'Every photo of Rush must be preceded by a ***Graphic Warning***, especially before noon time.' lol.

[RT Atlanta]

2. K&R

Great historical reminder that the party of "no" is using its stall-efforts purely for their masters: big business.

[FourScore]

3. Exactly!!! k&r

[hfojvt]

5. isn't that really controversial? Using a tactic like that?

That's what I hear now anyway.

[spanone]

8. tell that to the media, you'd think democrats were buying and selling babies

it's not controversial unless the media declares it so....and they have.

[Emit]

10. Silly you! Dontcha' know?

It's only *controversial* when Socialists do it!

[hfojvt]

12. yeah, but it's clearly something that only a socialist would do

trouble is that Democrats really couldn't raise a fuss about prescription drug coverage for seniors or about tax cuts.

[Emit]

13. IIRC, several Dems raised a fuss about the massive tax cuts.

There were only about a dozen Dems in the Senate who supported Bush's 2001 tax cuts. And then with Bush's second tax-cut package, only two Democrats voted for it - Ben Nelson, (D-Neb) was one, who is criticizing and opposes the reconciliation option now for the HCR bill.

[pdx_prog]

6. Bunning is a boil on the ass of society....eom

[mod mom]

7. thanks for the sourcing!

[Winterblues]

11. They were also the FIRST Time reconciliation was used to add to the Deficit.

Never before had Reconciliation ever been used when it added to the Deficit and in fact there were rules in place to forbid that from happening but the Bush* Cabal just ignored those rules. In fact they fired two Senate Parlimentarians that would not let them do this..