[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 84 (Wednesday, June 22, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H4899]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TEACHER TAX RELIEF ACT

  (Mrs. KELLY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. KELLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a cosponsor of the Teacher 
Tax Relief Act authored by my good colleague and friend the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Camp). I thank the gentleman for his leadership and 
strongly urge my colleagues to join us in cosponsoring this important 
effort to expand and make permanent the teacher tax deduction set to 
expire at the end of this year.
  America's teachers are depending on Congress to quickly pass this 
bill into law, and we must answer their call. Day in and day out, our 
teachers in New York's Hudson Valley spend remarkable time, energy and, 
yes, money from their own pocket to develop innovative and successful 
ways to motivate their students to learn. They are spending hundreds of 
dollars from their own paychecks to buy classroom supplies and learning 
materials ranging from pens and pencils to computer software programs. 
When teachers take such great initiative in their teaching methods, 
they should not be taxed on the money they are putting back into our 
classrooms to help our children learn.
  As a former teacher myself, I urge this House to quickly pass the 
Teacher Tax Relief Act. Let us show our teachers we are behind their 
efforts to improve our classrooms. Do not leave our teachers in limbo. 
Let us make sure our teacher tax deduction is permanently in place 
before our teachers start preparing for their new classes this fall.

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