[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 108 (Tuesday, August 4, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1541-E1542]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        SPOUSAL TRAVEL DEDUCTION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NEIL ABERCROMBIE

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 4, 1998

  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I am introducing legislation today 
which will help America's working individuals and families, 
particularly those associated with the travel and tourism industry.
  My bill would re-instate the federal income tax deduction for 
expenses of persons traveling with spouses on business purposes. As you 
may know, the spousal travel deduction was a long established part of 
the tax code until 1993. At that time, President Clinton, as a part of 
his first budget to Congress proposed repeal of the deduction, along 
with many other tax changes. I supported his budget, despite 
reservations about some of the tax proposals, such as cutting the 
business meal and entertainment expense deduction from 80 per cent to 
50 per cent, because they would have detrimental impact on the travel 
and tourism industry. Nonetheless, the need to reorder the nation's 
priorities was essential and overwhelming, and I voted in favor of the 
legislation.
  Supporting the 1993 budget was a difficult decision, but it was the 
correct one. It set the basis for rapid decline in the budget deficits 
which have plagued the nation for decades. We now have a budget surplus 
projected to be in excess of $50.0 billion. The travel industry and 
those states and localities dependent on the industry have sacrificed 
substantially in order to get our financial house in order.
  There is growing support for Congress enacting tax cut and reform 
legislation before we adjourn in October. I have worked closely in a 
bipartisan manner with the Congressional leadership, members of the 
Ways and Means Committee and with the Administration to generate 
support reinstating the deduction, and many have been encouraging on 
the proposal's merits and the beneficial impact that it will have on 
the economy.
  This bill is important to the working men and women of our country. 
The travel and tourism industry generates millions of jobs for our 
economy, and importantly, many of those jobs are entry level and give a 
first employment chance to less skilled workers, immigrants and those 
entering the job market for the first time. It provides an entry into 
the job market and opportunities for skill development, training and 
advancement. Representing a state and city very heavily dependent on 
travel and tourism, I have seen first-hand individual get a first break 
in the hotel and restaurant industries and advance in responsibility 
into management and supervisory positions. This is repeated throughout 
the country, but it is particularly apparent in areas with significant

[[Page E1542]]

numbers of tourists, such as Honolulu, Las Vegas, Orlando, Los Angeles, 
New Orleans, San Francisco, Miami and countless other communities 
across the nation.
  I also believe that there are significant misconceptions about the 
spousal travel deduction. It has been unfairly characterized as wealthy 
businessmen traveling to exotic locations and deducting the expenses of 
the wife. The reality is the deduction has been much more frequently 
taken by traveling salesmen and saleswomen and small business owners 
attending trade shows or soliciting business in trips across the around 
the nation. It was a middle-income tax, not an abuse exploited by the 
wealthiest. The wealthy have tax shelters that pale the spousal travel 
deduction, shelters not available to the working men and women of our 
country. The vast majority of beneficiaries solid, hard-working, tax-
paying Americans with a couple of kids, trying to make ends meet. Those 
are the people we should be designing the tax system to give a fair 
shake.
  I will be working in the next weeks and months in this Congress to 
move this legislation forward. Any tax reform or reduction legislation 
should address this issue. I look forward to continuing to work with my 
colleagues in Congress to making enactment of this bill a reality.

                          ____________________