Katrina disrupts Republican tax plans

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The unexpected and soaring costs of Hurricane Katrina have called into question the U.S. Republicans' plans to introduce tax cuts for the wealthy.

While House Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri said he has every intention of pushing forward with the tax and spending cuts and Social Security legislation later this month. He said hurricane-related legislation will not be controversial and "may mean we work on a Friday or two," The Washington Post reported.

But Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., is questioning his party's priorities just days after nearly $11 billion was rushed through in relief spending.

"How do you do tax cuts when your budget is straining to save lives?" Foley said.

Marshall Wittmann, a former Republican political strategist now with the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, told the newspaper the Republican agenda now looks like "political suicide" in the light of the hurricane's disastrous and lethal aftermath.