Webb Urges 5% Income Tax Credit for Veterans

Democrat Endorsed by Antiwar Lawmaker, Retired Generals

Virginia U.S. Senate candidate James H. Webb Jr. continued the military emphasis of his Democratic campaign, proposing an income tax break for veterans and picking up the endorsements of retired generals and a congressman who disapprove of the Iraq war.

U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), who has called for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and three retired generals endorsed Webb, the secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan. Webb was joined at a Capitol Hill news conference by retired Marine Corps Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, who has written a book criticizing the Bush administration's conduct of the war.

Webb has made his opposition to the Iraq war the cornerstone of his campaign, and his opponent in the Democratic primary, Harris Miller, has called for Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld to be replaced. The man one of them will face in the fall, Republican Sen. George Allen, has been one of President Bush's staunchest allies on Iraq.

Although Zinni and Miller have called for Rumsfeld to go, Webb has not.

"My view is that this entire administration did a deplorable job in planning and executing the invasion of Iraq," he said. "So to me, frankly, whether it's Secretary Rumsfeld or the next person they would put into his job, I don't quite see that it would affect the approach of the administration."

Webb proposed a 5 percent income tax break for veterans who have served honorably, although he couldn't say exactly how the plan would work or how much it would cost. But he said it would be an important symbol of how the country values those who volunteer for military service.

"In earlier days, military service in this country was viewed by many to be an obligation. . . . Or to put it another way, military service was viewed as a tax that many in the country were called upon to pay for the good of national security," said Webb, a former Marine whose son is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq this summer. A tax break would be a reward for such service, he said, and perhaps entice others to join the military.

Webb and Miller joined the race relatively late, considering Allen's formidable fundraising advantage and popularity in the state, and they are in a sprint to the June 13 primary.

Miller is a longtime Democratic activist who has a string of endorsements from party figures and elected officials, especially in Northern Virginia. He was most recently endorsed by the Virginia Partisans Gay and Lesbian Democratic Club. Both Miller and Webb oppose a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot this fall banning same-sex marriages.

Webb's military background is evident in his endorsers, among them retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark, a former presidential candidate, and retired Marine Gen. Joseph P. Hoar. Two others, retired Marine Lt. Gens. Gregory Newbold and Frank Petersen, joined the list yesterday.