politics10.htm

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April 30, 2002

Milt Jenkins
612 Court Street #1
Sioux City, Iowa 51101

Dear Milt,

Thank you for contacting me. It is always good to hear from my fellow Iowans.

I would like to apologize for the delay in getting back to you.. As you likely know, last fall, Senator Daschle's office received a letter tainted with anthrax which resulted in a long process to remediate and decontaminate the Hart Senate office building. In an effort to prevent a repeat of such an incident, public safety officials have put in place a lengthy process of irradiation, of all mail arriving at Congressional Offices. While this process is necessary to insure the safety of all those handling the mail, it has caused a significant delay in receiving your letter and thus in my response.

I want to emphasize how important it is to me that I keep in contact with you. Therefore, I am encouraging all Iowans to call, fax, or email their concerns to my state offices listed below or my Washington, D.C., office.

Now allow me to address your concerns. On March 10, 2002 the President signed an economic stimulus package into law. There were many different initiatives included in the bill, and I vote in support of the package.

I was a strong proponent of extending unemployment benefits and health insurance to those who lost their jobs. Giving money to those most likely to spend it gives our economy and immediate boost that stimulates job growth and encourages consumer spending. Our tax policies should have been directed at measures that would have provided a catalyst for immediate increases in consumer and business spending, and avoid those that could produce long term deficits at the Treasury.

Giving away billions of dollars to some of the largest corporations and providing substantial tax relief to the wealthiest Americans, including provisions that would not have taken effect for almost a decade, were put forward by some members of both House of Representatives and the Senate. These provisions were neither stimulative nor fair and I opposed them.

The compromise measure that passed in March minimized the proposed large tax giveaways, but also lacked some job creation initiatives and needed assistance with rising health care costs which I supported. I believe that this bill will provide help to those who have lost their jobs, and have some small economic impact, but most importantly, it will not place our long term financial strength in jeopardy. It is imperative that our fiscal policy does not harm our ability to meet the commitments to Social Security and Medicare for the baby boomers retiring at the end of the decade. Our economy appears to be entering a period of economic growth, but as our economy changes I can assure you that I will be closely monitoring the situation.

Again, thanks for sharing your views with me. Please don't hesitate to let me know how you fel on any issue that concerns you.

Sincerely,

Tom Harkin
United States Senator