Last Tuesday, on his 39th day in office, President George W. Bush appeared before both houses of Congress. In a televised speech, he told the American people about his budget for 2002 and his plans for the nation.

Bush says the government has extra money, or a surplus, because Americans are paying too much in taxes. He has proposed a $1.6 trillion cut in taxes.

It won't be easy for Bush to get his budget through a politically divided Congress. Democrats complain that Bush's tax plan favors the rich. "I don't believe the tax proposal is fair," says North Dakota Democratic Senator Kent Conrad.

On Wednesday, Bush took his plan on the road, hoping to convince Americans his tax cuts would work. "The surplus is your money," he told a crowd in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "It's not the government's money."

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March 9, 2001 World Report