[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 16 (Thursday, January 26, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E191-E192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      THE HOMEMAKER IRA ACT OF 1995

                                 ______


                         HON. NANCY L. JOHNSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 26, 1995
  Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, women who do not work 
outside the home contribute as much as their working spouses to the 
care and support of their families and they deserve equal retirement 
security. Unfortunately, the Tax Code prevents women who work at home 
from providing for their own retirement to the same extent as women who 
work outside the home.
  The problem is rooted in the rules governing Individual Retirement 
Accounts [IRA's]. If both spouses in a household bring home a paycheck, 
each is permitted to contribute and deduct up to $2,000 to an IRA--
$4,000 in total, subject to income limits. If only one spouse works, 
however, a married couple is limited to contributing a total of $2,250 
to an IRA. In other words, a one-income married couple 
[[Page E192]] may put aside only about one-half as much in an IRA as a 
two-income couple. Furthermore, if the wage earner in a one-income 
couple participates in an employee pension plan, there are further 
limits on total IRA contributions.
  Clearly, the tax code discriminates against spouses--primarily 
women--who work at home.
  In order to end this unequal treatment and to promote private 
retirement savings, I today have introduced a bill to permit full, 
$2,000 IRA contributions by nonworking spouses. Under my bill, a 
nonworking spouse could make a deductible IRA contribution, just as 
working spouses do under current law. An identical Senate bill has been 
introduced today by Senators Hutchinson and Mikulski.
  Congress should take the lead in promoting equal treatment, equal 
employment choice, and retirement security for American homemakers. I 
hope my colleagues will join me in cosponsoring this legislation.


                          ____________________