William Steiger, A Tribute
Rep. Steiger turned the Republican party around on cutting taxes.

Mr. Fergenson is an attorney in private practice who represented the late Rep. William Steiger in Buckley v. Valeo. Mr. Levin is president of the Landmark Legal Foundation
March 21, 2001 2:20 p.m.

resident George W. Bush has presented to Congress a proposal to cut the marginal tax rates for all Americans. And today the Senate is debating limits on free speech in political campaigns. It is time to pay tribute to the political leader who showed uncommon wisdom on these issues a generation ago — the late Rep. William Steiger, Republican of Wisconsin.

Steiger turned the Republican party around on cutting taxes. In 1978, he pushed through Congress a deep cut in capital-gains rates. This was the first time in 57 years that the maximum capital-gain rate was reduced. Steiger made the case that cutting taxes encourages investment, creates employment, and increases individual freedom. His was the opening shot fired in the tax-cutting revolution that Ronald Reagan took to Washington in 1981.

But this was not Steiger's first contribution to American liberty. Alone among Republicans in Congress, in 1975 he challenged the constitutionality of the campaign-finance regulations passed in the wake of the Watergate scandal. He did so in league with plaintiffs Sen. James Buckley (Con., N.Y.), Sen. Eugene McCarthy, the Libertarian party, the Mississippi Republican party, and the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Steiger was also widely recognized as a gentleman of the old school who acted with civility and kindness toward friend and foe alike. He continued in office, fighting for his principles, despite suffering from chronic heart disease. He died shortly after his trailblazing tax cut became law.

And one final point: Among those who worked on Rep. Steiger's staff was our current vice president, Dick Cheney. Steiger's legacy lives on.