As the new chairman of the Finance Committee, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley plans to focus on one main goal with the new Cabinet — a tax break.Grassley, R-Iowa, said if the United States continues to spend as it has in the last three years, half a trillion dollars will be spent, more than what would be spent with the new plan being formed by the George W. Bush administration.He said the United States now has the highest level of taxes since World War II. Bush’s plan involves continuing to pay down on the debt while giving taxpayers a cut. “We want to let people have some of their own money,” Grassley said. He said American men and women have worked very hard to advance the U.S. economy, and it’s time to give some of that back. “We are going to pay down on national debt due to irresponsible spending of the government,” Grassley said.While very little extra money will build up under the new plan, Grassley said it will be a good thing. “If money stays in Washington, it just burns holes in the pockets of members of Congress,” he said.Steffen Schmidt, university professor of political science, said this tax cut will be successful — in some form. He said both Democrats and Republicans want a cut and are looking for the change. The problem, however, may lie in deciding exactly how the cut should be made.Schmidt said Democrats and Republicans want different things with the cut. He said Democrats will want more of the cut to go to the middle class, and they fear the Republicans will want the cut to target the wealthy. For a tax-cut plan to be successful, Schmidt said, it should fall in the middle ground of those two desires.Grassley said he is looking forward to working with the new Cabinet on other issues as well. He said President Bush promised a diverse Cabinet, and he delivered. “I am very surprised at how many Cabinet members who were public service or retired are willing to stay in public service after being very successful in the private sector,” he said. He said the new members have valuable experience and will be great to work with.Grassley also said he plans to work very closely with former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, secretary of health and human services, to work with Medicare, prescription drugs and welfare reform. “We’re moving people from welfare to work and giving people a real chance to succeed that they would never have had if they stayed on welfare,” he said.