U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft pushed his flat-tax plan during a meeting Tuesday with members of two Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce committees.

Ashcroft, who hopes Congress will adopt his plan, said Americans are burdened by high taxes. The federal tax system is unfair and out of control, he said.

About 30 people attended the meeting at the chamber office.

The Republican senator, who has been mentioned as a presidential candidate in 2000, touted his "New Beginning" tax plan, which he said would provide Americans with a fair, flat tax.

Ashcroft's plan would abolish the $29 billion annual tax penalty on marriage and the double taxation of middle-class workers who pay income taxes and payroll taxes on the same earnings.

Ashcroft said he hopes to decide within the next two months whether he will run for president.

Ashcroft, who has traveled across the country over the past year testing the political waters, said he has found public support for his political views. "We've had more salutin' than shootin' by far," he said.

Ashcroft said the average two-income family pays 38 percent of its income to taxes.

It took Americans until May 10 this year to earn all the money needed to pay their taxes, he said. If the hidden taxes of government regulations are included in the picture, tax freedom day for Americans didn't occur this year until July, Ashcroft said.

The federal tax system has 5.5 million words, up dramatically from the 744,000 words that graced the federal tax code in 1954, Ashcroft said.

Ashcroft's plan would cut the income tax to only 10 percent for three out of four taxpayers. Ashcroft said that would mean lower taxes for all Americans.

Coupled with the payroll tax, the total tax rate would amount to 25 percent compared to the 40 percent that many Americans now pay, Ashcroft said.

The tax plan would reduce taxes on savings and investments and abolish estate taxes.

Ashcroft said his plan would provide all Americans with a dependent tax credit, regardless of income. The plan includes tax deductions for home ownership, state and local taxes, charitable contributions and health-care expenses.

Ashcroft said his plan would reduce federal taxes by nearly $1.7 trillion over five years.

An analysis by the Heritage Foundation, a private, not-for-profit public-policy organization, concluded that the Ashcroft plan would create 2 million new jobs over five years and lead to a permanent increase of 1.5 percent in the Gross Domestic Product.

Ashcroft said the federal government needs to control its expenses and retire the national debt.

"The job of government is growth, not growth in government,' he said.

"Funding of the bureaucracy can never be as fundamentally important as funding the families of America," Ashcroft said.

Ashcroft broke ranks with many of his Republican colleagues in Congress in voting against the $500 billion budget.

Ashcroft said the budget, weighing 40 pounds, stood 2 feet tall and contained over 3,000 pages. The budget includes plenty of pork, funding for various special-interest projects, the senator said.

"There was way too much pork,' said Ashcroft. He said lawmakers haven't read the entire budget and don't know everything that is in it.

"If you like either the law or sausage, you don't want to watch either one being made," he said.

Ashcroft said the 1998 budget deal fails to deliver tax relief to Americans who are paying the highest taxes in the nation's history and takes money President Clinton pledged to set aside for Social Security and uses it for new federal spending.

It also violates the budget caps approved by Congress in the 1997 budget agreement, he said.

Ashcroft's Flat-Tax Plan

Key points of U.S. Sen. John Ashcrofts flat tax playn:

* Would cut the income tax to only 10 percent for three out of four taxpayers.

* For income above the taxable wage base for Social Security, currently $68,400, a 25 percent rate would apply.

* Reduces taxes on savings and investment.

* Eliminates the marriage penalty.

* Abolishes estate taxes.

* Includes deductions for home ownership, charitable giving and health care.