Iowa Republicans grouse about Senator Grassley’s budget stance

The Iowa Republican Party’s chairman and other G-O-P activists held a news conference today to call on Senator Charles Grassley to back the President’s tax cut package. Grassley, a republican who is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, says there isn’t enough support and only 350-billion dollars of tax cuts can pass the Senate. Iowa Republican Party chairman Chuck Larson thinks otherwise. Larson says the legislative process is a long process, and Friday’s vote in the Senate on the smaller tax cut plan was just the first step. John Cox is a Chicago accountant who along with Larson is part of a Midwest coalition pushing for the President’s tax cut, and he isn’t giving up hope.Cox says “there’s still more fight left in this.” Kevin McLaughlin, a Des Moines investment advisor who was a key backer of Steve Forbes’ presidential campaign, says President Bush’s tax cut will bring the economy out of its malaise. Congressman Jim Nussle, another Iowa Republican, is chairman of the House Budget Committee and he has criticized Grassley for caving in to critics who support a smaller tax cut than the one passed by the House.