[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 26 (Thursday, March 12, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H1143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H1143]]
          SAVE WORKING FAMILIES AND SENIORS TAX RELIEF PACKAGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Filner) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce a tax relief 
package for middle class taxpayers. I collectively call them the ``Save 
Our Working Families And Seniors'' tax relief bills. The three bills, 
the Middle Income Senior Tax Relief Act, the Equal Indexing for Seniors 
Act, and the Middle Class Medical Tax Relief Act, would reduce the tax 
burden for middle class taxpayers.
  These taxpayers see their paychecks and retirement income dwindle 
because of the unfair way the Tax Code treats Social Security income 
and health care costs. My bills would put some of their hard-earned 
money back into their pockets and into their savings accounts.
  The Middle Class Medical Tax Relief Act would lower the exclusion 
percentage of medical deductions from 7\1/2\ percent to 5 percent for 
singles with incomes of less than $60,000 per year and couples with 
incomes of less than $75,000 per year. Thus, a family whose income was 
$50,000, would be allowed to deduct all medical expenses above $2,500 
instead of those above $3,750, as is now the law. Surely, middle class 
taxpayers need this tax relief.
  Almost every year government employees receive a cost of living 
increase to adjust their pay for inflation. But retirees' tax liability 
is not indexed for inflation, so those who work or are seeing a return 
on their investments they made for their retirement years must pay an 
ever-increasing percentage of their income on taxes. My bill, the Equal 
Indexing for Seniors Act, would index for inflation the amount of 
income each year that a senior can earn before their Social Security 
can be taxed.
  And middle income seniors, who earn just a bit more in a year, would 
not suddenly find their percentage of Social Security benefits taxed 
jump from 50 to 85 percent. My third bill, the Middle Income Senior Tax 
Relief Act, would increase the threshold for couples to $54,000 before 
85 percent of their Social Security benefits are taxed. Taken together, 
these two bills ensure that taxable income thresholds will rise with 
inflation.
  We, as a Congress, should not discourage seniors from working or 
earning a good return on their retirement investments, nor should we 
exclude people who have a modest amount of health care expenses from 
itemizing them.
  Madam Speaker, that is why I encourage my colleagues' support of the 
three bills that form my ``Save Our Middle Class Families And Seniors'' 
tax relief package.

                          ____________________