Former Sen. Roth, author of tax cuts, Roth IRA, dies

WILMINGTON, Del. - Former Sen. William V. Roth Jr., a fighter for tax cuts during his five terms as a Republican in the U.S. Senate and the creator of the popular retirement account that carries his name, has died. He was 82.

Mr. Roth collapsed late Saturday (Dec. 13, 2003) at his daughter's house in Washington, said U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del. Biden said he was notified shortly after midnight Sunday by Mr. Roth's longtime secretary.

Mr. Roth was a relentless champion of tax cuts during his time in Washington and also oversaw high-profile inquiries into both alleged taxpayer abuses by the Internal Revenue Service and Pentagon overspending that uncovered the famous $9,600 wrench and $640 toilet seat.

Before he lost the race in 2000 for a sixth term in the U.S. Senate, Mr. Roth was one of the longest-tenured politicians in Delaware's history and the state's longest-serving U.S. senator.

Mr. Roth was a native of Montana and became a political icon in his adopted state of Delaware, where he moved in 1954.

Mr. Roth won his first seat in Congress in 1966, when he defeated Democratic U.S. Rep. Harris B. McDowell Jr.

One of his first acts in Congress was to comb through the government agencies that provide grants, small business loans and other money. He finished with what became known as the "Roth Catalog," originally published in the Congressional Record in 1968, a guide now updated annually as "The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance."

In 1981, early in his Senate career, Mr. Roth joined former Rep. Jack Kemp to usher in a sweeping tax cut that some hailed as the spark for the robust economy of the 1990s but that critics blamed for the spiraling national deficits under President Ronald Reagan.

Mr. Roth later focused his attention on the tax collectors, leading a series of high-profile congressional hearings into the workings of the Internal Revenue Service. Although Mr. Roth said his inquiry reined in an agency out of control, the hearings were unable to substantiate any specific claims of abuse by IRS workers. He later wrote a 1999 book, The Power to Destroy, a look at the IRS.

Mr. Roth's crowning legislative achievement was the creation of the Roth IRA, an individual retirement account that allows people to invest taxable income that can be withdrawn tax-free in retirement.

Despite his achievements in the Senate and 99 percent name recognition among voters, Delaware sent Mr. Roth into retirement in 2000 by giving former Gov. Tom Carper an overwhelming victory in what was considered a battle of Delaware titans. At the time, Mr. Roth was 79, the third-oldest member of the Senate.

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