Tax-Cut Rollback Not On Table, Rangel Says; Lawmaker Tries to Counter GOP Alerts
To hear Republicans talk, Rep. Charles B. Rangel, the gravel- voiced New York Democrat who stands to take over the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, is "giddy" about the chance to undo popular tax cuts enacted during President Bush's first term in office.</br></br>But Rangel said yesterday that he had no intention of rolling back the cuts, most of which are scheduled to expire in 2010, if Democrats claim the House on Nov. 7.</br></br>"I think it would be ridiculous for us in 2007 to be talking about 2010 tax cuts," Rangel said in an interview. "I don't want to go retroactive in terms of any of the tax cuts. I think retroactive tax increases are bad tax policy."</br></br>As the prognosis for Republicans to maintain control has grown increasingly gloomy, Rangel has become a favorite rhetorical punching bag for President Bush and Republican leaders. At fundraisers, in news releases and on the campaign trail, Republicans have been warning voters that a Democratic House would raise taxes and wreak havoc on the nation's economic recovery. They raise the specter of Rangel's bejeweled hands on the controls of federal tax policy like some terrifying Halloween goblin.</br></br>Last week, House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) attacked Rangel by name two days in a row in news releases with such headlines as "Dem Tax Hikes Would Threaten Strong Economy." "The American people don't trust Charlie Rangel and his tax-happy Democrat friends because they know Democrats will work overtime to raise their taxes," Boehner said.