Republicans tout one-year plan for debt relief

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Frustrated in their efforts to repeal the marriage penalty and estate taxes, Republicans on Saturday touted their new plan to use 90 percent of next year's projected budget surplus to pay off the public debt.

"The president may have vetoed marriage penalty relief, but rest assured, that money isn't going to be spent on big government," said Representative Steve Kuykendall of California, delivering the weekly Republican radio address. "The money we had set aside for marriage penalty relief will now be devoted to paying off the public debt."

Repeating a refrain the Republicans have used all summer, Kuykendall said Democrats were only interested in more government spending, and he portrayed Republicans as defenders of working families.

Kuykendall borrowed a line from Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush and gave it a new twist, reflecting the GOP's new emphasis on debt reduction.

"It's not Washington's money," Kuykendall said. "It's your money, and we're going to put it where you want it to go -- to pay off the public debt." On the campaign trail, Bush uses that line to promise more tax relief.

Under the Republican plan, outlined by GOP leaders this week, 90 percent of the fiscal year 2001 budget surplus would go toward debt relief. The remaining 10 percent would be used for education, defense, Medicare and other programs, Kuykendall said.

Democrats have criticized the plan as a gimmick, saying congressional Republicans are running away from their own tax-cut plans because they haven't caught on with the public. They also said the new debt-reduction proposal amounts to a repudiation of Bush's tax-relief proposals. Some analysts also said that a one year debt-reduction plan isn't enough of a commitment to maintain economic stability.

But Kuykendall defended the one-year plan as a sound endeavor, and pointed to the athletes gathered in Sydney, Australia, for the Olympics to make his point.

"They have a goal -- be the best they can be -- and they have dedicated their lives to meeting that goal," he said. "Let's be inspired to do the same here. The goal: Paying off our public debt. It's within our reach. Let's have the discipline to reach the finish line."

Kuykendall said Republicans would "try again next year" to pass the marriage penalty relief bill. Clinton vetoed that measure, along with a repeal of the estate tax, saying the Republican bills were targeted to wealthy Americans.