[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 101 (Tuesday, July 20, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H5986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TAX SIMPLIFICATION AND REFORM WEEK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 20, 2004, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) is recognized 
during morning hour debates.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, the rhetoric of class warfare has never 
worked, and it certainly is not going to work today, particularly when 
we see opportunities proceeding for Americans all over this country.
  So rather than sit back and enjoy the historic success of the 2001 
and 2003 tax measures this Republican majority has passed into law, 
which have accounted for opportunities, certainly for more than 1.3 
million new jobs already this year, we have developed legislative 
proposals to address longstanding impediments to prosperity in this 
Nation.
  Rather than simply looking for new taxes to reduce, we looked around 
for other friction heaped upon the free market by this government, and 
we came up with an eight-part strategy to increase the competitiveness 
of our economy for years to come: The 21st Century Careers Initiative.
  We began to look at ways to make the health care system even more 
flexible and responsive to the needs of American consumers. We began 
the process of reforming the way that the Federal Government regulates 
small businesses in this country. We began a rethinking of the role of 
the government in lifelong learning programs, so that Americans never 
stop increasing their skills and their earning power. And this week we 
began what we hope will be a long debate about the future of taxation 
in the United States.
  While tax relief has been part of the Republican agenda for decades, 
the time has come for us to not simply lower taxes but to reform the 
way people are taxed in the first place. And so we come to the Tax 
Simplification and Reform Week on the House floor.
  We will begin with consideration of two bills that begin to fix our 
Tax Code so that it will make more sense for Americans. One will 
increase the income limit to qualify for filing the form 1040-EZ income 
tax return for the first time in more than 20 years. The other will 
create the first-ever short-form tax return specifically for seniors.
  Now, the debate about tax reform and simplification, like the other 
components of the career initiative, is not designed to score partisan 
points, but, instead, to move our economy past the artificial shackles 
of over taxation, over regulation, and over litigation, which keep the 
American people from enjoying the full benefits of their economic 
competitiveness.
  This week, Mr. Speaker, we will take another step closer to a 
friction-free environment that our economy demands and our people 
deserve.

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