Clinton Sets Out Test for Tax Cuts

As rival tax cut plans circulate in Washington, President Clinton laid out the tests by which he said any proposal should be measured, and he agreed to back whatever passes muster.

Clinton, in his weekly radio address Saturday, said any tax cut package should help the middle class, promote personal responsibility and strengthen the economy.

“If it does, I’ll be for it, no matter who proposes it,” Clinton said. “If it doesn’t, I’ll oppose it.”

He began the address with a message to flood victims in California: “Our Administration is doing everything in our power to make sure you get the relief you need. And I pledge to you that the American people will stand by you in this time of crisis as they have in the past.”

Moving on, Clinton said it was fitting to focus on the middle class as the nation marks the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, saying: “One of Martin Luther King’s greatest lessons was that every American deserves a piece of the American Dream, the chance to pull ourselves up and work our way into the middle class.”

Clinton said he had been fighting since his election for a “new kind of government--a leaner but not a meaner government that cuts yesterday’s programs and bureaucracy to make room for tomorrow’s solutions, rooted in responsibility, the empowerment of our citizens, the strength of our communities.”

Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), who delivered the Republican response, disputed Clinton’s claim he had cut government.

Cox said that without a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution, King’s dream will be shattered and the government’s legacy to Americans “nothing more than a huge share of debt.”