Free Republic

"The pledge not to waste our tax dollars rings hollow," says Stephen Moore, president of the Club for Growth and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, "given that in a matter of days he will sign into law a budget-buster that provides money for Alaska skating rinks, Michigan swimming pools and Iowa indoor rain forests." Moore is referring to President Bush's pronouncement in his State of the Union address that "we must spend tax dollars wisely" and the complete lack of opposition from the White House to the mile-high pile of pork in the recently passed fiscal 2004 Omnibus...

<p>Nevada's tourist industry, airplane sightseeing companies in Hawaii, high speed Internet providers and soldiers in the war on terror lost out when lawmakers stripped all special interest provisions from the tax bill.</p> <p>Tax measures often are filled with provisions to benefit specific groups and businesses, and the Senate version started out that way -- with members even hailing their success in news releases.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON (CNN) -- After nine hours of deliberations, the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday night emerged with a tax bill that largely resembles the agreement reached a day earlier among committee Republicans.</p> <p>In a 12-9 vote, primarily along party lines, the committee approved a 10-year, $438 billion tax bill. Arkansas Democrat Blanche Lincoln, up for re-election in 2004, voted with committee Republicans for final passage of the bill.</p>