[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 10 (Tuesday, February 8, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               ENACT H.R. 6, MARRIAGE TAX ELIMINATION ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Barrett of Nebraska). Under the 
Speaker's announced policy of January 19, 1999, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Weller) is recognized during morning hour debates for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. WELLER. Mr. Speaker, over the last several years, many of us have 
been asking a question that we hear time and time again back home. I 
have the privilege of representing the south side of Chicago and the 
south suburbs, communities like Joliet and Lancing and Morris and rural 
communities like Tonica and elsewhere; and they often ask me a pretty 
basic question. That question is, as we talk about taxes, they say, 
why? Why do married working couples, a husband and wife who are both in 
the workforce, why do they pay higher taxes when they get married? They 
ask, is it right, is it fair that under our Tax Code, married working 
couples pay higher taxes? On average, 25 million married working 
couples pay, on average, $1,400 more in higher taxes than identical 
couples who choose not to get married, but live together outside of 
marriage. That is not right.
  The folks back home tell me that it is time that those of us here in 
Washington should do something about it, that we should work to 
eliminate what has been called the marriage tax penalty. Mr. Speaker, 
$1,400, the average marriage tax penalty, is a lot of money back home 
in Illinois. Mr. Speaker, $1,400 is one year's tuition for a nursing 
student at Joliet Junior College, our local community college; it is 
three months of day care for a working mom and dad with children. It is 
almost 4,000 diapers for a family with a newborn child.
  It is real money for real people; and there are, of course, some here 
in Washington who say they would much rather spend that money here in 
Washington than bring about tax fairness by eliminating the marriage 
tax penalty.
  Well, I am proud to say this House is doing something about the 
marriage tax penalty. Last year we passed and sent legislation to the 
President which would have wiped out the marriage tax penalty for over 
25 million couples; and unfortunately, President Clinton and Vice 
President Gore vetoed that bill. They had a lot of excuses. They wanted 
to spend that money. But this year, there is no excuse. We have 
Valentine's Day approaching, and what better gift to give 25 million 
married working couples who suffer the marriage tax penalty than to 
pass legislation wiping out the marriage tax penalty.
  This Thursday, we will be considering in the House legislation 
approved by the Committee on Ways and Means, H.R. 6, the Marriage Tax 
Elimination Act, which I am proud to say now has 236 cosponsors, 
including almost 30 Democrats who have joined with us in our effort to 
eliminate the marriage tax penalty. We help real people.
  Let me introduce a couple here. This couple here, Shad and Michelle 
Hallihan of Joliet, Illinois, two public school teachers in Joliet, 
Illinois. They happen to make about $60,000 in combined income from 
their two teaching salaries, and Shad and Michelle suffer almost the 
average marriage tax penalty.
  Well, under the legislation that the House is going to be considering 
this week, Shad and Michelle will benefit, because two public school 
teachers who chose to get married who now suffer the marriage tax 
penalty will essentially have their marriage tax penalty wiped out. 
Michelle told me the other day, she says, Congressman, tell your 
friends in the Congress, particularly those who believe it is not a 
good idea to eliminate the marriage tax penalty, what wiping out the 
marriage tax penalty would mean for them.
  They say $1,000, which is essentially the marriage tax penalty, would 
buy 3,000 diapers for their newborn baby. That is money that is 
currently going to Washington that they could use to take care of their 
child. Frankly, if we want to be fair, it is their money. We should 
eliminate the marriage tax penalty.
  This Thursday, H.R. 6, the Marriage Tax Elimination Act, will help 
couples like Shad and Michele Hallihan. We do it in several ways. We 
double the standard deduction. One-half of married couples do not 
itemize their taxes; they use the standard deduction, so we double it 
for joint filers. The marriage penalty is created when a married couple 
of course get married, they file their taxes jointly, their combined 
income usually pushes them into a higher tax bracket. That is what 
pushes Shad and Michelle into the 28 percent bracket.
  What we want to do, of course, is for the nonitemizers, which is 
about half of the married couples who suffer the marriage penalty, to 
double the standard deduction for joint filers to make it twice that of 
singles. For those who itemize, who are the other half of married 
couples who suffer the marriage tax penalty, those who itemize are 
homeowners. The average middle-class family itemizes their taxes 
because they own a home. We want to help them and provide marriage tax 
relief as well. So we widen the 15 percent bracket, the basic tax 
bracket that every one of us pays. We are all in the 15 percent 
bracket, regardless of our income, for the lowest bottom bracket of our 
income. By widening the bracket so that joint filers, married couples, 
can earn twice as much as a single filer and be in that same bracket, 
we help those who itemize.
  We also help the working poor. There is a marriage penalty for the 
earned income credit, and we provide tax relief for them.
  This Thursday, let us have an overwhelming bipartisan majority. Let 
us work together. Let us eliminate the marriage tax penalty. There are 
no excuses. We want to be fair. Eliminate the marriage tax penalty.

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