[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 129 (Friday, October 4, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENSE OF HOUSE THAT CONGRESS SHOULD COMPLETE ACTION ON H.R. 4019, 
             PERMANENT MARRIAGE PENALTY RELIEF ACT OF 2002

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. LEE TERRY

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 2, 2002

  Mr. TERRY. Mr. Speaker, last May 26, I voted with 239 of my 
colleagues to scrap the marriage penalty once and for all. We didn't 
vote to phase it out over ten years and then bring it back; we voted to 
get rid of it. Why? Because, above all, our tax code must be fair.
  Is it fair to tax marriage? Is it fair to tell a young couple on the 
event of marriage that, aside from paying for the invitations, caterer, 
photographer, music, and reception hall, they'll have to pay an 
additional $1400 in taxes every year? What kind of message are we 
sending to the American people when we can afford wasteful spending 
like tattoo removal programs, but are not willing to invest in 
marriage? Well, how's this for bringing home pork: phasing out the 
marriage penalty once and for all will return $81.2 million to the 
58,000 couples in the Second District of Nebraska. That way, they can 
spend their money the way they want.
  I keep hearing from the other side of the aisle that tax cuts cost 
money. Who does it cost? It certainly costs the 175,000 couples in my 
state of Nebraska, who pay the marriage penalty every year. But, it 
doesn't cost the federal government anything.
  If we fail to work to make provisions of President Bush's tax cut 
permanent, the American taxpayers will experience the single greatest 
tax increase in U.S. history: more than $380 billion in the year 2012.
  Mr. Speaker, this tax is unfair, unnecessary, and wrong. It defies 
American morals, it defies logic, and it flies in the face of family 
values. Let's bring some common sense back to our tax code. Vote for 
this legislation.

                          ____________________