[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 108 (Wednesday, July 28, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1667]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1667]]



                   THE FINANCIAL FREEDOM ACT OF 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 22, 1999

  Mr. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my opposition to this 
tax cut package and to explain my votes on this legislation.
  H.R. 2488 is fiscally irresponsible and dangerous to the country's 
economic growth and future. The package sponsored by Representative 
Bill Archer would commit this Congress to cutting taxes by $792 billion 
over the next 10 years, dedicating the majority of an expected $1 
trillion Federal budget surplus--that may or may not materialize--
toward massive tax cuts. Projections by the Treasury Department suggest 
that the cost of the bill would explode to $3 trillion in the second 10 
years. This is the same decade in which our obligation to the retiring 
baby boom generation comes due, the Social Security Trust Fund will 
begin to be drained, and the Medicare Trust Fund will be exhausted.
  Mr. Speaker, I serve on the House Banking and Financial Services 
Committee. On July 22, the same day that this Congress acted to pass a 
$792 billion tax cut, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan testified 
before our Committee. Chairman Greenspan not only argued that the 
projected surpluses on which this tax cut relies are based on spurious 
assumptions, but also that his preference would be to allow these 
surpluses, should they materialize, to buy down our $5.6 trillion debt. 
I listened to Chairman Greenspan and I voted against the majority tax 
cut bill. I voted for the motion to recommit, a proposal that would 
instruct the Ways and Means Committee to heed the advice of Chairman 
Greenspan and redraft their bill to distribute 50 percent of the 
surpluses to buying down our debt, 25 percent to tax cuts and 25 
percent to ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security and 
Medicare. Unfortunately, this motion failed by nine votes.
  For the first time in a generation, we have an opportunity to do the 
right thing, the financially responsible thing for our children, our 
grandchildren and our Nation--we have the opportunity to put our 
financial house in order by paying down our burdensome national debt. 
In 1998, we paid $243 billion in interest on the national debt. Paying 
down the debt would reduce these annual interest payments to fund 
future tax cuts or other needs. Paying down this debt would reduce our 
overall interest rates, as much as 2 or 3 percent. The benefit of such 
a decrease in interest rates should be readily apparent to any person 
in this country who borrows money from a bank or carries a credit 
balance.
  By way of illustration, if one finances a mortgage of $115,000 for 30 
years at 8 percent, the payment is $844 each month. But decrease the 
interest rate by only 2 percent, and the mortgage payment is $689 per 
month for monthly savings of $155 or an annual savings of $1,860. I 
call this the ultimate tax cut. By way of contrast, H.R. 2488 would 
only place $289 back in the average taxpayer's pocket. This, while 
bankrupting America's future.
  I believe we should not let this opportunity pass. I believe we 
should be fiscally responsible and do the right thing now for our 
Nation and for our Nation's future. I believe that the only vote that 
represents this sort of resolve and discipline was ``aye'' on the 
motion to recommit.
  Mr. Speaker, I also voted in favor of the minority substitute that 
provides substantial tax relief to working Americans who need it most. 
While I would have included provisions that differ somewhat from this 
version had I drafted this bill myself, the minority substitute 
contains the following provisions that are beneficial to Kansans:
  Estate Tax Relief: $26 billion in estate tax relief over 10 years to 
accelerate the $1 million exclusion from 2006 to 2000.
  Marriage Penalty Reduction: $74 billion in tax relief over 10 years 
to reduce the ``marriage penalty.'' The bill adjusts the standard tax 
deduction for a joint income tax return filed by a married couple so 
that it is twice the standard deduction allowed to single taxpayers--
$8,600 as opposed to the current $7,200.
  Permanent Extension of the Research and Development Tax Credit: $27.2 
billion over 10 years to permanently extend the tax credit for 
businesses that engage in resource-intensive research, thereby 
encouraging economic expansion. A 1998 study estimated that a permanent 
R&D tax credit would result in an additional $41 billion in private 
sector research and development investment between 1998 and 2010.
  Child Credit Increase: $17 billion in tax relief over 10 years to 
increase the family child tax credit by $250 for each child under five.
  Limitations on Non-Refundable Credits: $36 billion in tax relief over 
10 years to repeal the current limitation on the use of non-refundable 
credits to reduce an individual's tax liability. Non-refundable tax 
credits include the child credit, various education credits and the 
dependent care credit.
  School Construction and Modernization: $8.6 billion over 10 years for 
interest-free funds to State and local governments for public school 
construction and modernization projects.
  Life-Long Learning Support: $7 billion over 10 years to make 
permanent the exclusion from income amounts received from employer-
provided educational assistance for both higher education and post-
graduate expenses.
  Long-Term Health Care Credit: $15 billion over 10 years to extend a 
non-refundable income tax credit of $1,000 for each individual with 
long-term needs taken care of in a household.
  Mr. Speaker, this plan also restricts the majority of these tax cuts 
from taking effect until Medicare and Social Security have achieved 
solvency. This plan, along with my support of the motion to recommit, 
is the responsible approach to providing tax relief. I hope that this 
Congress can work together in the weeks and months ahead to provide 
reasonable and responsible tax relief to working families and family 
businesses while also paying down the debt and strengthening Medicare 
and Social Security.

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