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Photo by Elliot J. Sutherland/The Ottawa Herald
U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kan., talks Tuesday night to Tom Weigand, president of the Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce, during a candidates forum at the Franklin County Office Annex building, 1428 S. Main St., Ottawa. Local and national candidates turned out to connect with Franklin County constituents.
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Boyda, Jenkins spar over tax cuts
Forum: Money matters
By CLEON RICKEL, Herald Senior Writer
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Congressional candidates spent a lot of their time Tuesday evening on taxing.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda and her Republican challenger, State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins, swapped barbs during the national part of the Ottawa candidates’ forum as two Libertarian candidates sitting between them ducked.
Boyda accused Jenkins of misrepresenting her votes concerning President Bush’s tax cuts. Jenkins charged that Boyda was playing word games.
Boyda said state newspapers have debunked Jenkins’ claim that she was voting for the largest tax increase in history.
“Lynn, just because you repeat it over and over doesn’t make it true,” Boyda said.
Boyda’s votes against making Bush’s tax cuts permanent will result in a significant tax increase for many Americans, Jenkins shot back.
Although Boyda said she’s for tax breaks for the middle class, she voted against changing the Alternative Minimum Tax, Jenkins said.
Libertarian Senate candidate Randall Hodgkinson and Libertarian House candidate Robert Garrard said they would vote to make the tax cuts permanent although Hodgkinson said that it’s equally important that the federal government cut its spending.
“It’s irresponsible to talk about that side of the equation [cutting taxes] and do away with that revenue stream,” he said.
Jenkins and Boyda also clashed on earmarks, those special appropriations U.S. representatives and senators slip into major bills to provide money for local projects.
“These need to stop,” Jenkins said. Congress has approved earmarks for a packers and muleskinners’ museum, a grape genetics research project and the Charles Rangel Public Policy Institute, named after a prominent New York Congressman.
Boyda was unrepentant, noting she used an earmark to bring $294,000 to Ottawa for a road improvement project at the Davis Avenue Industrial Park.
Boyda said she made national headlines when she and a fellow Kansas Democrat decided to openly list the earmarks they’ve gotten.
“We’ve made it transparent, and we’ll let the voters decide,” she said.
The worst abuse of earmarks has come from Republicans, she said.
Both Hodgkinson and Garrard said they oppose earmarks.
Boyda explained her no vote Monday on the $700 billion Wall Street bailout but all of the candidates said they also would have voted against it.
There had been some question Boyda wouldn’t make the forum because of Monday’s vote, in which the House rejected the bailout.
However, Boyda said she flew back to Kansas Tuesday afternoon and would return to Washington for an early Thursday flight for another vote.
“It was one of those white-knuckle votes, “ she said.
Boyda said she knew her vote would affect retirees who have much of their retirement savings in stocks.
However, no economist could guarantee that the proposed bailout would work, she said.
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