Nussle says tax cuts are not the reason for the deficit

The Iowa Congressman who’s chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee is rebuking those who allege the tax cuts Republicans crafted are causing the record federal budget deficits. Republican Congressman Jim Nussle says “it’s interesting that tax cuts are being blamed for deficits,” because he says “the only thing that can cause a deficit is government spending.” Nussle says when taxes are cut, the government doesn’t have to send that money to Americans — the money’s left in Americans’ pockets. Nussle says it’s government spending, not tax reductions, that cause deficits And he says government spending is “out of control.” Nussle says he’s in charge of a project that’s trying to root out waste, fraud and abuse within government programs. He says it’s a long-term process. Nussle says there was probably no way the government could have avoided deficit spending in this era. Nussle says with a recession, two wars and increased spending on homeland security in the wake of September 11th, the federal government will be in deficit for awhile, and it will take hard work to get the government back in the black again. The Bush Administration this week said the federal budget deficit will be 455 billion dollars this year — a record. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says that “substantial and excessive” federal budget deficits will hurt the U.S. economy.