[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 6, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E105-E106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE TAX RELIEF AND MARRIAGE PENALTY ELIMINATION ACT OF 
                                  2001

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. SAM JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 6, 2001

  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing 
legislation that will provide substantial tax relief to all American 
taxpayers and entirely eliminate the marriage penalty.
  The federal government taxes Americans too much. In fact, Washington 
is taxing our citizens at the highest rate ever during peacetime. This 
high level of over-taxation is helping to generate ever-larger 
surpluses. Not surprisingly, many Washington politicians want to use

[[Page E106]]

these tax overcharges to increase the size and scope of the federal 
government. Like President Bush, I believe that a government with 
unlimited funds becomes a government with unlimited reach. Thus, he is 
correct when he states that the solution is stop taking this excess 
money from the people who earn it in the first place.
  At the same time the federal government is taking more than its fair 
share from our hard working Americans, our federal tax laws have become 
more and more confusing as special interests line up to get tax breaks. 
What we need to do is provide substantial tax relief in a simple and 
fair manner.
  The first part of my bill is based on President Bush's across-the-
board tax cut proposal. It will simplify and reduce the existing 15%, 
28%, 31%, 36%, and 39.6% tax rates with four lower rates of 10%, 15%, 
25%, and 33% over a period of 5 years. My tax plan will mean lower 
taxes for all working Americans.
  Time and again, history has demonstrated that across-the-board tax 
relief has significant, positive economic benefits. Each time in the 
last century that tax rates were lowered, an economic boom followed. 
This was most recently demonstrated in the last 20 years. Under strong 
leadership, the malaise and stagflation of the 1970s melted into the 
prosperity of the 1980s. And the economic growth of the 1980s provided 
the venture capital to seed the technology revolution of the 1990s. The 
turning point of this remarkable economic transformation came on August 
13, 1981, when President Reagan signed into law the largest tax relief 
bill in American history. The 25% across-the-board cut in income taxes, 
combined with prudent deregulation and anti-inflation monetary 
policies, helped unleash the longest economic boom in the 20th century. 
It is clear that providing tax relief in this manner will generate 
millions of jobs, raise living standards for tens of millions of 
Americans and increase our collective national wealth by several 
trillions of dollars.
  Tax relief should encourage personal opportunity and economic growth 
instead of attempting to manipulate individual behavior based on 
Washington values. We must move away from Washington picking winners 
and losers by its manipulation of our country's tax laws. Recently, 
Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve System, reiterated his 
long-standing professional opinion that across-the-board tax relief is 
economically the best way to provide tax relief. Importantly, he 
stressed the unarguable point that Washington politicians will spend 
the current national surplus if it is not returned to its rightful 
owners, the American taxpayers. Consequently, Mr. Greenspan now agrees 
that we must make across-the-board tax relief a top policy goal.
  The second part of my bill will immediately eliminate the marriage 
penalty in our tax code. This legislation rewrites the existing 
discriminatory tax laws in order to ensure that married couples will 
never be penalized on the account of their marital status. Married 
couples will be able to get standard deduction that is twice the amount 
of single tax filers. Currently, the standard deduction for a single 
American is $4,550 but the married couple only gets $7,550. Under my 
bill the married couple will get a standard deduction in the amount of 
$9,100, which is twice the amount of the single standard deduction.
  Importantly, my bill will also ensure that all income brackets are 
adjusted so that the married brackets are twice the amount of the 
single brackets. Currently, American families pay a marginal tax rate 
of 28% on income above $46,000, while an unmarried couple pays a 
marginal tax rate of 15% on total income up to $54,000. That's just 
plain wrong. My bill will ensure that American families never pay a 
higher marginal tax rate than an unmarried couple.
  It is simply wrong that Washington is punishing our American families 
by taxing our traditional values. Increasingly, our sons and daughters 
can not afford to marry. Consequently, they are less likely to dedicate 
themselves to their relationship and their children. We must eliminate 
this perverse disincentive for all American families.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in providing meaningful tax relief 
for all taxpayers and immediately eliminating the marriage penalty in 
our tax laws.

                          ____________________