Members of our congressional delegation delight in putting out press releases extolling the amount of federal dollars they bring to our state. "$19 Million for McChord Upgrades," "$9.9 Million for Tacoma Commuter Rail," "$1 Million for Walla Walla Airport," are typical offerings. Of course securing Uncle Sam's dollars for the folks at home is a time-honored tradition. The practice of congressmen bringing home the bacon dates to the earliest days of the Republic.

But what if there were a federal program that delivered billions of dollars to our state, $220 million in the next three months alone? An obvious "yes" vote for any Washington Member of Congress, right? Wrong. Congress held such a vote late last month and the Washington delegation split cleanly along party lines - all the Republicans voted for it and all the Democrats voted against it. What is the program? It is President Bush's tax cut, which goes by the tongue-twisting title of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. The President signed the bill on May 28th.

The $220 million comes from just one provision of the new law, increasing the Child Tax Credit from $600 to $1,000 per child. On July 25th the IRS will begin mailing checks of up to $400 per qualifying child to 556,000 families in our state. Nationwide, some 25 million families will receive checks. This is not a handout. Recipients will merely be receiving back their own hard-earned money.

The bill contains further provisions that will help the people of our state. 825,000 married couples will be better off because of the reduction in the marriage penalty. 586,000 Washington taxpayers will see a reduction in the double taxation of their dividend income. 1.6 million residents will benefit from the expansion of the 10% tax bracket, and 641,000 will gain from the across-the-board reduction in higher tax rates. Many people in Washington will see their federal income tax obligation reduced to zero. Nationally, some three million taxpayers will be removed from the tax rolls.

There are a number of policy advantages to letting people keep more of their own money. Cutting tax rates is efficient. The same money doesn't have to be carried in a leaky bucket all the way to the nation's capitol and back again. It is fair. Federal officials don't get to pick winners and losers. Money from tax cuts goes directly to the people who earned it in the first place. It is responsible. Limiting the tax burden disciplines our elected representatives to set clear priorities in government spending, and pay only for things that truly serve the public interest. When tax revenues seem unlimited, there is always a temptation to create new programs and lock in higher spending for the future.

We often hear about how "massive" the Bush tax cut is. Yet in historical terms the President's tax cut is actually quite modest. According to Stephen Moore of the Club for Growth, the Reagan tax cuts of 1981 and John F. Kennedy's tax cuts of 1964 were about three to four times larger in relation to the size of the economy in those years than what Bush proposed earlier this year. And the version Congress ultimately enacted is even smaller than what Bush first proposed. Overall, the Bush tax cut will reduce the $27.9 trillion in tax revenue the federal government is projected to collect over the next ten years by a little over 1%.

Still, for those who strongly oppose the new tax policy there is a simple solution; don't take the cut. The law sets the minimum amount each person must pay in tax, but it doesn't impose any upper limit. People who don't agree that taxes should be reduced can simply calculate their taxes based on the previous rates and send in that amount. Tax increases are mandatory, but tax cuts are always voluntary.

Overall, the economic boost our state will receive under a policy of tax cuts is a vastly greater stimulus to jobs, growth and investment than anything that could be gained through traditional spending on targeted projects. And unlike one-year federal money, reducing the tax burden will benefit the people of Washington for years to come. Now that's worth a press release.