Bush Turns Compassionate

George W. Bush wants to give tax credits to the working poor to help buy health insurance and lump-sum rental vouchers for a home down payment.

And he wants to offer tax credits for banks that match the savings deposits of poor people. The presumptive GOP presidential nominee, who has billed himself as a "compassionate conservative," has shifted toward the political center in recent weeks, after moving to the right during his bruising primary battle with Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Bush's proposals are part of the "New Prosperity Initiative" that he unveiled in Cleveland on Tuesday. The Texas governor said his initiative aimed at making poverty "a stage, not a fate" by providing health coverage, housing and savings incentives.

"We will not nationalize our health care system, we will promote individual choice," said Bush. "But make no mistake, in my administration, low-income Americans will have access to high quality health care."

Bush's announcement coincided with new reports on the state of public health in Texas, which has one of the nation's worst records. More than a quarter of Texans have no health insurance and the state ranks near the top in rates of AIDS, diabetes, tuberculosis and teenage pregnancy, said the New York Times.

In response, the Bush campaign released a fact sheet on health care in Texas that said the Lone Star State had provided more than $4 billion in health care to the uninsured through local and state initiatives. And it said Texas had slowed the growth of the uninsured to 3 percent over the governor's term.

Bush's initiative expands on tax-cut and education proposals he's offered previously - and continues his outreach to independents and moderate Democratic voters by talking about subjects often ignored by GOP candidates.

"With the same energy and activism that others have brought to expanding government, we must expand opportunity" by targeting those "between poverty and prosperity," said Bush in his speech.

The Democratic National Committee criticized Bush for visiting a job training center known as El Barrio immediately before the event.

El Barrio is a nonprofit social service agency that offers a range of services to the city's Hispanic community, including job training, transportation and translations.

The Democrats cited a January report by the Texas state auditor which found "gross fiscal mismanagement" in the administration of a $201 million "Smart Jobs" fund overseen by the state Department of Economic Development.

"With a dismal job training record like his in Texas, it's no wonder that Bush had to travel to Ohio to even talk about the issue," said the DNC statement.

Elements of the Bush initiative:

• Create an incentive for work by lowering the bottom tax bracket from 15 percent to 10 percent and doubling the per child tax credit from $500 per child to $1,000 - proposals already announced as part of Bush's taxcut plan.
• Provide access to affordable health care with a tax credit for insurance of up to $1,000 per individual earning $15,000 or less and $2,000 per family earning $30,000 or less.
• Expand home ownership by supporting legislation that would allow local public housing authorities to provide Section 8 renters up to a years' worth of vouchers in a lump sum to finance the down payment and closing costs on a house. Other low-income renters would be helped with an "American Dream Down Payment Fund."
• Build personal savings supporting legislation that would encourage savings through Individual Development Accounts, or matched savings accounts. Banks would receive up to $1 billion in tax credits over five years to match deposits and to allow individuals to withdraw the money tax-free to buy a first home, start a new business or pay for an education.