WASHINGTON, D.C. - Tax distribution tables are often incomplete, biased and misleading and thus should not drive U.S. tax policy, according to a new Joint Economic Committee study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The new study, A Comparison of Tax Distribution Tables: How Missing or Incomplete Information Distorts Perspectives, is the latest product of a JEC research program on tax distribution issues. Tax distribution tables are typically used to project and allot changes in taxation to specific income groups, but often omit basic information such as the share of taxes paid by such groups before and after a given tax measure takes effect.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The existence of budget deficits does not have a major impact on interest rates, according to a new Joint Economic Committee study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton.

   The evidence and analysis presented in the study explain why interest rates could have fallen to historically low levels in recent years even as large budget deficits emerged in the wake of the 2000 bursting of the stock market bubble, the economic slowdown, and significant increases in federal spending on national security. The evidence in the new study, Federal Borrowing and Interest Rates, indicates that the strength of the economy, and inflationary expectations, are much more important influences on the level of interest rates than are budget deficits.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The 0.9 percent increase in November industrial and manufacturing production released by the Federal Reserve indicates that the manufacturing sector continues to share in the acceleration of the overall economy, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The value of the stock market has increased by $4.2 trillion since the trough of October 2002, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. This increase in the market capitalization of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq translates into a percentage increase of 39 percent between October of 2002 and December 9, 2003.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Newly revised data released by the Commerce Department reveal that the U.S. economy was in decline in the third quarter of 2000, before posting a small increase in the fourth quarter of the year, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The Commerce Department data show that real GDP fell at a 0.5 percent rate in the third quarter of 2000, pulling down the growth rate for the second half of that year. In the second quarter of 2000, real GDP had risen at a rate of 6.4 percent.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The intense scrutiny given to every word and nuance in the Fed's monetary policy announcement would not be necessary if the Fed moved toward a more transparent framework of inflation targets, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Inflation targets set a permissible range for future inflation as an objective of central bank monetary policy, and are successfully used by many central banks around the world.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The increase in employment during November raises the number of payroll jobs created since July to 328,000, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. He noted that November payroll growth has occurred across a broader group of industries than in previous months this year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today that the household measure of employment increased by 589,000 in November, and the unemployment rate slipped to 5.9 percent.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - A recent medical malpractice report is incomplete and lends itself to misinterpretation, according to a new Joint Economic Committee analysis released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The report, issued in August by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), has been cited in numerous press accounts as evidence that there is no medical malpractice crisis. The new Joint Economic Committee policy brief, entitled Medical Malpractice Reform: Perspectives on Recent Findings by the GAO, shows that much of this coverage has ignored important elements of the GAO report, as well as flaws in certain aspects of the report itself.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The increase in manufacturing activity posted in November is consistent with other data showing expansion in the manufacturing sector, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The data were released today by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), and signal growth in manufacturing employment for the first time since fall 2000.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The upward revision to the already robust economic growth in the third quarter of 2003 is welcome news, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The rate of real GDP growth in the third quarter was revised upward from 7.2 percent to 8.2 percent. In addition, a new release of consumer confidence figures for November, showing a large ten point monthly gain to 91.7 percent, supplements other data showing continued strong growth in the fourth quarter, though probably not at the unsustainable rate posted in the third quarter of the year.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Legislation requiring that the hidden subsidies provided to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the U.S. be included in the budget process has been introduced, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The legislation, H.R. 3533, requires that the cost of these subsidies be estimated, included in the budget, and subject to annual appropriations. Last week Saxton released a financial analysis showing that the value of these IMF subsidies to U.S. taxpayers is currently about $2 billion annually.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The decline in new weekly jobless claims and the rise in the index of leading economic indicators are consistent with other data showing continued healthy economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2003, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The hidden costs incurred by the United States through its contributions to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should appear as expenditures in the budget and be considered by Congress in the appropriations process, according to a study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The new study, Funding the IMF: How Much Does It Really Cost?, was written by Adam Lerrick of the Gailliot Center for Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The 0.2 percent October increase in industrial production released this morning is consistent with other recent economic data showing that the improvement in economic conditions has continued into the fourth quarter of 2003, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton also commented on the 2.1 percent production increase in computer and related products in October, and the 15.5 percent increase over the last year.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today's employment report is good news for American workers. Payroll employment increased 126,000 in October, while the September increase was revised upward to 125,000. October marks the third consecutive increase in payroll employment after accounting for the revised increase in August. The household measure of employment increased by 441,000 in October, while the unemployment rate slipped one tenth of a percentage point to 6.0 percent. The improvement in the employment data reported today reflects the progress made in emerging from the economic slowdown of recent years.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Those who compare recent economic conditions and policies to those of the Hoover era should recall the mistakes made in the Revenue Act of 1932, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Instead of reducing the tax burden, Congress passed and President Hoover signed into law steep increases in personal income tax rates, estate tax rates, and many other items.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Newly released manufacturing and construction data are consistent with the robust 7.2 percent GDP growth rate posted in the third quarter of 2003, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index of manufacturing activity climbed to a level of 57.0 in October, while the Commerce Department reported that construction spending jumped to a new record high in September. The ISM index has been above 50 for four months, denoting expansion of manufacturing activity.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The third quarter economic growth rate of 7.2 percent is the most rapid since the first quarter of 1984, showing that the U.S. economy is very strong and that the recent tax legislation has worked as intended, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The growth reported today builds on the respectable 3.3 percent real GDP growth rate posted in the second quarter.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The ongoing controversies over the content and meaning of the Fed statements issued after its monetary policy meetings would be greatly reduced by the Fed moving in the direction of inflation targeting, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Inflation targets typically are ranges of permissible increases in inflation, for example, between 1 and 3 percent, in a broad price index. Inflation targets are used by the central banks of many nations around the world.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The improvement in the stock market since its trough in October of 2002 has added $3.7 trillion in market capitalization to the market, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. This figure is based on increases in the value of stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq through the end of last week.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The openness to various forms of inflation targeting in monetary policy voiced at a recent St. Louis Federal Reserve conference last Friday is encouraging, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton of the Joint Economic Committee said today. Inflation targets are typically ranges of permissible increases in a selected broad price index. For example, such a target could be set to permit increases of between 1 and 3 percent in the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index. Saxton has introduced legislation, H.R. 2547, to provide flexible inflation targets in monetary policy. Under discussion last Friday were various options to provide soft targets that would not be excessively rigid and would permit flexibility to respond to changing macroeconomic conditions.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. economy is currently growing strongly and the economic outlook has improved significantly, according to a new report released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The new Joint Economic Committee report, Current Economic Conditions and Outlook, examines recent macroeconomic trends using a wide variety of economic indicators.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Tax increase advocates who assert the recent tax relief legislation should be reversed because it shifts the tax burden from upper to middle income households are mistaken, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton pointed out that the income tax system is highly progressive, and that the share of income taxes paid by upper income taxpayers actually increased somewhat under the 2003 tax relief bill.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The increase in September payroll employment is good news, which if sustained in coming months, may signal a turning point in labor market conditions, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 57,000 increase in payroll employment and a revision for the August data that exceeded market expectations. The unemployment rate was unchanged. Unfortunately, the string of manufacturing employment declines that began in the summer of 2000 continued in September, although at a slower pace.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The increase in real median household income after taxes in 2002 reflects the benefits of tax relief legislation provided to middle income Americans, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. According to this measure, after-tax income increased from $35,563 in 2001 to $35,812 in 2002. The rebound in 2002 left real median household income at a relatively high level, a level higher than those reached in the boom period leading up to 1998. This measure peaked in 1999, before the decline that started in 2000. The median measures income in the middle: half of households have incomes above the median, and half below the median. The data are adjusted for inflation.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - According to new Census Bureau data, after-tax median household income in 2002 was among the highest on record, and higher than in all years of the prior decade through 1998. The new Census data have been revised to fully account for the effects of the 2001 tax legislation. Half of all households have incomes above the median, and half below the median.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The top half of taxpayers continue to pay over 96 percent of Federal income taxes, while the bottom half accounts for slightly less than 4 percent, according to new 2001 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The impact of the stock market collapse that began in 2000, and the economic slowdown and recession that followed, are clearly visible in the data, especially for the income and tax shares of upper income taxpayers.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The stagnation in income growth for middle income Americans that started in 2000 continues, according to comprehensive measures of income released by the Census Bureau today. There are various ways to measure the middle income of households, referred to as median household income. This median is the income value of households in a ranking where half of all households have lower income, and half have higher income.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Analysis of annual changes in income and taxes should take into account the considerable movement of households between different income levels reflected in Census Bureau data that Vice Chairman Jim Saxton released today. The data from the Census Bureau show that about one-third of households change income groups in as little as one year, a pattern that has remained fairly constant over the years.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The shares of income taxes actually paid by various income groups should be the basis for evaluating claims about the fairness of income tax relief, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Recent tax relief legislation currently is under attack as purportedly tilted, but this argument typically is made without disclosure of the shares of income taxes actually paid by various income groups. According to Internal Revenue Service data, taxpayers in the top half of tax filers, ranked by adjusted gross income (AGI), bear nearly all of the income tax burden.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Comparisons of the effects of tax legislation on taxpayers in various income groups often misrepresent the impact of the tax system on most taxpayers, according to a Joint Economic Committee (JEC) study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. According to the study, The Misleading Effects of Averages in Tax Distribution Analysis, such comparisons are often misleading because the average tax liabilities commonly used are very different from the income tax liabilities actually borne by most taxpayers in each income group. The study is a statistical analysis of Internal Revenue Service income tax data from its Statistics of Income division.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The artificially low interest rates charged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be adjusted to reflect market risk, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton previously had criticized the granting of IMF interest subsidies to Argentina, which defaulted to the IMF yesterday.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Howard Dean and fellow critics of current Administration economic policies were again challenged by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton to explain how the economic deterioration that began in 2000 was caused by policies only adopted in the middle of 2001. Dean and several others have sought to blame the job losses of recent years on the policies of the Bush Administration, but a variety of data on stock prices, GDP, industrial production, manufacturing activity, and many other measures show that an economic slowdown was underway well before President Clinton left office. As Saxton has pointed out many times previously, most of the job losses in recent years have been in the manufacturing sector, a sector that was in sharp decline in 2000.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Commissioner Utgoff, it is a pleasure to join in welcoming you before the Joint Economic Committee. The August employment data reflect the past weakness in the economy. Payroll employment declined by 93,000, including a drop of 44,000 in the manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate slipped to a level of 6.1 percent.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Former Governor Howard Dean was challenged today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton to explain the deterioration in the economy already underway in 2000, before President Clinton left office. Saxton again referred to the statement of Joseph Stiglitz, President Clinton's Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, who said, "the economy was slipping into recession even before Bush took office, and the corporate scandals that are rocking America began much earlier."

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Recently introduced inflation targeting legislation addresses the need for flexibility in monetary policy, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The bill, H.R. 2547, would enhance transparency in monetary policy while providing ample discretion for Fed officials to manage economic risks.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Partisan attacks on Administration economic policy by Senator John Kerry and other presidential candidates fail to acknowledge the fact that tax relief legislation did not push the budget into deficit, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Instead, the bursting of the financial bubble in 2000, and the related economic slowdown and recession that followed, are the main factors pushing the budget into deficit. In other words, these economic factors changed the budget situation; a changed budget situation did not cause the economy to deteriorate, as some suggest.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Reforms are needed to ensure that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank provide benefits in excess of their taxpayer costs, according to a new paper released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The paper, What Future for the IMF and the World Bank?, examines how the functions of the IMF and World Bank should be refocused and reformed to improve the economic well being of citizens of their client countries. The paper was authored by distinguished economist Dr. Allan H. Meltzer, who served as Chairman of the International Financial Institution Advisory Commission.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The tax bills passed during the Bush Administration did not push the budget into deficit, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton noted today. The budget effects of the 2000 stock market plunge, the economic slowdown and recession, and additional federal spending, are the factors that account for the swing from budget surpluses to budget deficits. Without these factors, the tax legislation would have left large surpluses throughout this decade.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The flexibility in Federal Reserve monetary policy signaled by Chairman Greenspan today is welcome given current economic conditions, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said. In Congressional testimony Greenspan made clear that the Fed is ready to ease monetary policy again if necessary to preempt potentially deflationary pressures.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The bursting of the stock market bubble in 2000 has had long-lasting negative effects on business investment and economic growth, according to a new study released today by Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The soaring stock market had encouraged and facilitated increases in business investment up to its peak in early 2000, but the popping of the bubble reversed this process. For most of the period since 2000, business investment has been a drag on economic growth. The new study, Economic Repercussions of the Stock Market Bubble, examines the relationship between the stock market bubble, business investment, and economic growth.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Recent attacks on current economic policy made by former governor Howard Dean, Senator Bob Graham, and other presidential candidates ignore the deterioration in the economy already underway by 2000, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton referred them to the statement of Joseph Stiglitz, President Clinton's chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, who said, "the economy was slipping into recession even before Bush took office, and the corporate scandals that are rocking America began much earlier."

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Turnover in the group of the top 400 taxpayers is extremely high, according to new tax data obtained by the Joint Economic Committee and released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. Although changes in the income and taxes of the 400 highest income (adjusted gross income) taxpayers for years 1992-2000 have been reported as front page news in recent days, such comparisons are essentially meaningless because the membership of this group changes so dramatically every year. According to the new data, of 400 top tax returns in tax years 1992-2000, 75.7 percent would not have been among the top 400 more than once. Even more tellingly, less than one percent of the members of the top 400 were among this group every year from 1992 to 2000.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Newly released tax return data on 400 high-income taxpayers should not be directly compared with data from other tax years because the turnover rates of these taxpayers are so high, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Some current media accounts of 2000 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax data for 400 high income tax returns rely on comparisons of income and taxes between various tax years, even though the taxpayers comprising this group have changed dramatically over the years.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Federal Reserve's adoption of inflation targets would clarify monetary policy decisions and reduce uncertainty in a low inflation environment, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton last week introduced legislation, H.R. 2547, to mandate use of inflation targets by the Federal Reserve.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - he unduly negative portrayals of the long-term U.S. budget outlook fail to fully account for future revenue flows according to a new paper by Dr. Michael Boskin, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The forthcoming National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) paper examines the future revenue implications of withdrawals from tax-deferred saving and investment plans, pensions, and other items. Reportedly, by 2040 Boskin estimates that the value of these deferred taxes could amount to trillions of dollars.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Inflation targeting by the Federal Reserve would be mandated by new legislation, H.R. 2547, introduced by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. Inflation targeting has been used by many central banks around the world to guide monetary policy. Inflation targets are typically ranges of permissible increases in prices in a selected price index. For example, an inflation target could be set to permit increases of between 1 and 3 percent in the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The positive effects of repealing the estate tax should be made permanent, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today in releasing a new study on this tax with Rep. Jennifer Dunn. The study, The Economics of the Estate Tax: An Update, documents the damage inflicted by the estate tax on capital formation, thrift, continuity of small businesses, and the environment. Under current law, the damaging effects of the estate tax are reduced, and the tax would be repealed in 2010, only to come back to 2001 levels in the next year.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Federal Reserve actions to ease monetary policy are still needed to ensure price stability, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today.

   "The Fed's Open Market Committee should ease monetary policy when it meets next week," Saxton said. "The U.S. economy remains somewhat weak, and downward pressures on prices continue.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Essential components of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) framework to forecast financial crises "performed poorly" or were inaccurate, according to a new General Accounting Office (GAO) study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. Saxton and Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley requested the GAO study, International Financial Crises: Challenges Remain in IMF's Ability to Anticipate, Prevent, And Resolve Financial Crises.

Download Press Release #108-40 in PDF format | GAO Study (in pdf)

   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Argentina's depression of 1998 to 2002, whose effects linger today, was not a failure of free markets, as some observers have claimed. Rather, it resulted from blunders in economic policy that impeded economic growth, explains a new Joint Economic Committee study titled Argentina's Crisis: Causes and Cures.

Download Press Release #108-39 in PDF format | Download a longer background paper (in pdf)

   WASHINGTON, D.C. - It is a pleasure to join in welcoming the witnesses before us today. The economic reconstruction of Iraq poses many policy questions that merit the attention of this Committee.

   Iraq's economy had been shrinking for years under the rule of Saddam Hussein. Extensive ownership, control, and influence of business by the government, its officials, and political cronies undermined economic growth. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait resulted in economic sanctions and the oil-for food program. Although the recent war has resulted in some economic damage, Iraq's economic situation today is similar to that of the Eastern European countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union. New institutions are needed that are compatible with a market economy and improved prospects for economic growth.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Criticism of Administration economic policy by its opponents fails to consider the economic deterioration underway in 2000, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton again referred the Minority to the statement of Joseph Stiglitz, President Clinton's Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, who said, "the economy was slipping into recession even before Bush took office, and the corporate scandals that are rocking America began much earlier."

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Federal Reserve should move to ease monetary policy and bolster price stability at its June 24th-25th policy meeting, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton also recently released a JEC study, Monetary Policy in Low Inflation/Deflation Environments, describing options the Federal Reserve has for easing policy even when short-term interest rates are barely above zero.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The new tax bill provides the largest percentage reductions in the income taxes of low and middle income groups, and as a result, the share of total income taxes paid by upper income groups under the new tax law will increase, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton based his remarks on new figures on federal individual income taxes provided by the Treasury Department.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - With the outlook for expanded donor funding dim and its own debt restructuring plan essentially dead, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could play a constructive role by promoting collective action clauses in bonds offered by sovereign borrowers, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton made his remarks in connection with the release of a study from the Gailliot Center for Public Policy of Carnegie Mellon University, A Simple Means to Defuse Sovereign Default, by Adam Lerrick.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Federal Reserve's adoption of explicit inflation targets would increase the transparency of monetary policy, reduce uncertainty, and clarify the current discussion over disinflation and the risk of deflation, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. In previous Congresses, Saxton introduced legislation to mandate the use of explicit inflation targets by the Federal Reserve.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank should not be used to bail out Iraq's creditors, said Joint Economic Committee Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. Saxton made his remarks in connection with the release of a new Joint Economic Committee (JEC) report, The Role of the IMF and World Bank in Reconstructing Iraq. Saxton has also introduced H.R. 2080, a bill that would block the use of IMF loans to bail out Iraq's creditors, and thereby encourage a write-down of Iraq's foreign debt.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The new tax package agreed upon by the leadership of the House and Senate will boost economic and job growth, Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Many of the ideas in the new tax package were analyzed in a JEC study Saxton released earlier this month. Saxton also rejected criticism of the tax package today by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who recently unveiled the Minority proposal for a tax increase.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - It is a pleasure to join in welcoming Chairman Greenspan before the Joint Economic Committee once again.

   The latest economic figures indicate that the economy is still expanding, although at a slow rate. In recent years, the economy has been remarkably resilient despite terrorism, war, and pervasive uncertainty. However, one of the weakest areas in the expansion has been business investment, and until business investment rebounds the economy is not likely to expand at a vigorous rate.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Federal Reserve monetary policy remains a potent force even when short-term interest rates are very low, according to a Joint Economic Committee (JEC) study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The study, Monetary Policy in Low Inflation/Deflation Environments, examines the options available to the Federal Reserve to ease monetary policy even when the short-term Federal Funds rate is barely positive.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Recent criticism of current economic policy by former Minority Leader Gephardt, former Governor Howard Dean, and some Minority Senators ignores the extensive historical record demonstrating that the economic slowdown began in 2000, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton again referred the Minority to the statement of Joseph Stiglitz, President Clinton's Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, who said, "the economy was slipping into recession even before Bush took office, and the corporate scandals that are rocking America began much earlier."

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The economic plan released by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi last week sharply reduces previously proposed near-term tax relief and actually would increase taxes over the longer run, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The Minority plan released last January provided $87 billion of tax relief in fiscal 2003, whereas under the plan released last week this amount shrinks to only $53 billion spread over both fiscal 2003 and 2004. The latest Minority plan claims to provide tax relief totaling $106 billion over the long term, but also contains $177 billion in tax increases in the years 2003 through 2013, leading to a net tax increase.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Federal Reserve should act soon to further ease monetary policy and improve the prospects for healthy economic growth, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. At a Joint Economic Committee hearing he chaired last November, Saxton asked Chairman Greenspan about the weakness in the economy, the risk of potential deflation, and the policy tools the Fed has at its disposal. These issues continue to be relevant in the current economic environment.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Iraq's creditors would be encouraged to forgive much of Iraq's outstanding foreign debt, rather than wait for a potential bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), under legislation introduced today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Recent statements by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Members of the Minority Leadership linking a supposed "continued downturn in the economy" to Administration economic policies were challenged as factually wrong today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC). Minority Leader Pelosi also said, "Since President Bush took office two and half years ago, the American people have seen the most dramatic economic deterioration the nation has ever experienced in such a short time."

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The new tax legislation recently reported by the House Ways and Means Committee would improve economic growth by addressing a major soft spot in the economic expansion - investment - according to a study released today by Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The study, Near-Term Stimulus and Long-Term Economic Growth, analyzes the economic impact of the Jobs and Growth Tax Reconciliation Act of 2003.

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