[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 36 (Thursday, March 6, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H1656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ARMED FORCES TAX FAIRNESS ACT

  (Mr. LEWIS of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Matsui).
  Mr. MATSUI. I thank the gentleman very much.
  Mr. Speaker, these tax breaks would provide for foreigners who place 
bets outside the United States on horse races a tax break. It would 
provide special tax breaks for the blend of diesel fuel and water. It 
will provide a special tax break for manufacturers of fishing tackle 
boxes. In all, $300 million worth of tax breaks like these would have 
been provided. A wide variety of these tax breaks would be given to 
these different companies, many of whom have contributed to the 
colleagues who in fact have offered them.
  I think this is tragic. We have a situation where our young men and 
women are put in harm's way. We want to give them some relief so that 
at least they can have some peace of mind when it comes to selling 
their house. And many will have to sell their homes. That is one of the 
reasons we gave this tax break, mainly because their income is going to 
go down, and many have families back home.
  As a result of that, we are slowing this process down now. So I would 
just hope they would bring the bill back, stripping off these special 
tax provisions.
  Once again, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Georgia 
for yielding to me.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Matsui) for his leadership and all his good work.




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