[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 12 (Thursday, February 10, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              H.R. 3620--THE SECOND CHANCE IRA ACT OF 2000

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Horn) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, every Member of this House knows that although 
we have a Federal budget surplus now, we still face a very low national 
savings rate. That is because individuals simply do not or cannot save 
a significant portion of their income. That suggests to me that we must 
do more to encourage savings, particularly among younger Americans who 
need to begin building the savings that will help them have a secure 
retirement.
  The difficulties of many younger people were illustrated to me 
recently by a 38-year-old constituent. He outlined a personal and a 
generational dilemma.
  He mentioned, ``When I graduated from school and entered the 
workforce, I had too many student loans and too little income to put 
away $2,000 a year in an IRA. Now I make enough to contribute to an 
IRA, but I am not allowed to make up for the past 10 years of tax 
deductible contributions. Why not change the law to let me make up 
those lost contributions and maximize my IRA?''
  Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question, and today I am introducing 
legislation and will try to give an answer to a good question.
  This legislation is called the Second Chance IRA Act of Year 2000, 
H.R. 3620, and I am pleased that 23 Representatives are joining with me 
as original cosponsors.
  Our bill simply says that if you were eligible to make an IRA 
contribution in the past and did not make one, you can make the 
contribution in the current year and take the tax deduction up to a 
maximum $2,000. That would be in addition to any current IRA 
contribution and deduction that you are eligible to make. That means a 
qualifying individual could deduct a total of $4,000 a year and a 
qualifying couple could deduct up to $8,000 a year.
  This legislation offers a powerful incentive for young people to make 
up their missed opportunities and to save for the future. It also 
offers an opportunity for women to build a retirement account after 
being out of the work force to raise a family or to care for a parent. 
In short, we give a second chance to those who have failed to maximize 
their savings and who were denied that chance due to circumstances 
beyond their control.
  The Second Chance IRA Act aims to encourage personal responsibility 
and to maximize personal flexibility in building a secure retirement 
amid the many insecurities of the 21st Century economy where every 
person will have multiple careers with multiple employers. Let us help 
these young people to move forward with confidence by allowing them to 
fill in blank spots in their IRA ledger.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the Members who have joined me today in this 
effort. I urge all of my colleagues to review the proposal and to join 
us in cosponsoring this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the text of the bill and the 
original cosponsors.

                               H.R. 3620

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``______ Act of 1999''.

     SEC. 2. MAXIMUM IRA DEDUCTION INCREASED BY PORTION OF UNUSED 
                   PRIOR DEDUCTION LIMITATIONS.

       (a) In General.--Subparagraph (A) of section 219(b)(1) of 
     the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to maximum amount 
     of deduction) is amended to read as follows:
       ``(A) the sum of--
       ``(i) $2,000, and
       ``(ii) the lesser of--
       ``(I) $2,000, or
       ``(II) the aggregate of the unused deduction limitations 
     (as defined in paragraph (5)) for all prior taxable years, 
     or''.
       (b) Unused Deduction Limitation.--Subsection (b) of section 
     219 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new paragraph:
       ``(5) Unused deduction limitation.--For purposes of 
     paragraph (1), the unused deduction limitation for any prior 
     taxable year is the excess of--
       ``(A) the lesser of--
       ``(i) $2,000, or
       ``(ii) the compensation includible in the individual's 
     gross income for such taxable year, over
       ``(B) the amount of qualified retirement contributions of 
     such individual for such taxable year.''
       (c) Conforming Amendments.--Sections 408(a)(1), 408(b), 
     408((j), and 408(p)(8) of such Code are each amended by 
     striking ``$2,000'' each place it appears and inserting 
     ``$4,000''.
       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.

                       Co-sponsors for H.R. 3620

       Mr. Houghton, Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut, Mr. Gilman, Mr. 
     Bilbray, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Oxley, Mr. Biggert, 
     Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Gibbons, Mr. Gilchrest, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. 
     Hefley, Mr. Istook, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Kuykendall, Mr. LaHood, 
     Mr. Mica, Mr. Paul, Ms. Pryce of Ohio, Mr. Smith of Michigan, 
     Mr. Weldon of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Walden of Oregon.

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