MICHELE NORRIS, Host:
He says his plan improves on both the House-White House compromise and the tax rebates Americans saw seven years ago.
MAX BAUCUS: Back in 2001, only people who earn income tax got the rebate check. Almost as much revenue is paid in payroll taxes as is paid at income taxes. So I'm saying that we should improve upon the 2001 if you have payroll taxes, you get the rebate.
NORRIS: But imagine the idea of the stimulus package is to help those who are hurting. Why extend these kind of benefits to the extremely wealthy, especially when it means providing money to those who are least likely to spend them?
BAUCUS: And that's because into the House-passed bill, if you have only payroll taxes but no income tax liability, you don't get the full 600 bucks, it's down to 300 bucks. And so we're saying no, no. If - even if you don't pay income taxes, you pay payroll taxes, you get the full rebate check. And also by inclusion of seniors - 20 million seniors picked up in the Senate bill - 20 million seniors excluded in the House bill.
NORRIS: Now, the idea of the stimulus package is to provide a quick jolt to a sagging economy. There's some question or some worry that this might slow things down. We heard that from President Bush last night in the State of the Union Address. Before we go on, let's just listen to the State of the Union Address real quick.
(SOUNDBITE OF "STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS")
GEORGE W: The temptation will be the load off the bill. Now, we delay it or derail it and neither option is acceptable.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE)
NORRIS: Will your additions delay or potentially derail the stimulus act?
BAUCUS: No, I very much agree to the president. In fact, I applauded that line. I was sitting on the House chamber. We should not delay or derail this bill by loading it up with lots of pork and whatnot. And we're not going to do that. My goal is to basically take the House bill and just approve upon it without loading it up.
NORRIS: You're saying improve upon it. I imagine that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi doesn't see it quite that way.
BAUCUS: Well, I think privately, she does, honestly. And she understands that this - the House is one body and there's a co-equal body called the United States Senate. And senators are going to wind up - put their imprint on this and we've done it away which very much helps put more money in people's pockets with a higher propensity to spend.
NORRIS: Senator, a very simple question that I imagine is on the minds of many of our listeners. Where does this money come from?
BAUCUS: This is in a nature of an emergency so this is going to have to be covered later. This is going to be borrowed money, there's going to have to be spending else - cuts elsewhere, I mean, rather increase some place else. This is going to not be paid for.
NORRIS: So...
BAUCUS: I mean, it's not going to be paid for immediately.
NORRIS: ...with the listener in mind so they might get this if we follow your plan, the $500 rebate check but it may mean that they sort of taken on the other end if they don't have access to some sort of government funding for another program that they rely on.
BAUCUS: Well, that's the House version. That's exactly what the House does. That's exactly what President Bush is recommending. And that would apply it to both versions of the House and Senate.
NORRIS: But wouldn't that apply to your version off? I mean, you're talking about, you know, borrowing money from the government, potentially happy to make cuts elsewhere.
BAUCUS: Well, we're not making cuts elsewhere. The Bush plan - the House- Bush plan does not make cuts elsewhere and this plan also does not make cuts elsewhere. This is - we're not offsetting it.
NORRIS: And will this stimulus package in the end add to the nation's deficit woes?
BAUCUS: Well, that's - it's - my fond is it probably will a little bit initially, but it's - all economists say we should do this. All - I'm not going to say all, the vast majority of economists say we should do this. We need to give the economy a little bit of a stimulus, a little bit of increase. This is advice we're given by economists. It's advice we're given by business people. It's, I think, the right thing to do at this point. So that people have this money, spend it, and that's going to help the economy going into recession and oh, it's going to help the economy rebound.
NORRIS: Senator Baucus, thank you very much for speaking to us.
BAUCUS: Thank you.
NORRIS: That was Senator Max Baucus. He's a Democrat from Montana. He's the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and he's proposing an alternative stimulus plan to be drafted by the Senate committee tomorrow.
ROBERT SIEGEL, Host:
And you can learn more about Senator Baucus' plan to jumpstart the economy as well as the one House leaders in the Bush administration of proposed at npr.org.