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PITTSBURGH, April 15 (UPI) -- Earmark bans, budget reviews and tax code revisions are parts of his economic plan if elected U.S. president, presumptive Republican nominee John McCain said. The Arizona Republican also unveiled immediate counters to the subprime crisis, rising fuel costs and skyrocketing college tuition during a speech Tuesday at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
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He also would seek reform in the federal tax code, removing corporate tax loopholes, as well as propose legislation that would cut taxes for businesses and middle-income individual tax-payers, including "a complete phase-out of the Alternative Minimum Tax to save more than 25 million middle-class families more than $2,000 every year," The Arizona senator said in prepared remarks.
McCain said his platform -- which also includes healthcare and trade -- would help create jobs, strengthen the dollar, improve the investment climate and attract global investors.
He also would work to make job training and unemployment insurance more responsive to getting displaced workers back in the market.
Some issues can't wait, he said.
He said he will propose legislation that would provide qualified homeowners "direct and immediate help" by offering a new, 30-year fixed-rate loan backed by the U.S. government.
He also proposed the federal government suspend all gasoline taxes from Memorial Day to Labor day this year, effectively providing "an immediate economic stimulus." Simultaneously, he recommended suspending oil purchases for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which would "bring a timely reduction in the price of gasoline."
He outlined his proposal that the U.S. Education Department work with governors to ensure the states' guarantee agency can meet its obligation as the "lender-of-last-resort."
