[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 85 (Thursday, June 23, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7313-S7314]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BROWNBACK:
  S. 1305. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 
increase tax benefits for parents with children, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Parents 
Tax Relief Act.
  The Parents Tax Relief Act would help restore to families the pride-
of-place, which they enjoyed during the early days of the income tax.
  This important legislation would relieve the growing tax burden on 
families with children; provide a realistic option for one parent to 
stay at home and care for the children; and acknowledge the 
indispensable social value of the time and effort that parents put into 
rearing and forming their children.
  Letting parents keep more of their hard-earned money for family-
related expenses leaves the childcare decision to parents. Given this 
opportunity to make their own decision about childcare, many will 
choose to stay at home and care for their children themselves.
  This legislation is necessary because parents have been hit 
especially hard by increasing taxes over the past half-century. In 
1948, the average family with children paid 3 percent of its income in 
Federal taxes; today, that same average family with children pays 
almost 25 percent of its income in Federal taxes.
  It is time for the Federal Government to step back and recognize the 
contributions of the American family. As a matter of policy, I believe 
we should work to further reduce taxes on families with children in 
order to make it easier for parents to be parents and care for their 
own children at home. Outside of abusive situations, nothing is better 
for our children than spending time with their parents.
  The Parents Tax Relief Act takes a modest step towards empowering and 
strengthening the family. It builds on Marriage Penalty Tax Relief and 
the Child Tax Credit, making both permanent. While the Child Tax Credit 
was significant in leveling a three-decade trend of an increasing 
percentage of married mothers with preschool children who work outside 
the home full-time, more needs to be done to give parents the chance to 
decrease this percentage.
  To accomplish this end, the Parents Tax Relief Act would increase 
deductions for young and elderly dependents.

[[Page S7314]]

It would equalize existing Federal preferences between parents who 
choose to stay at home with their children and parents Who choose to 
work outside of the home and place their children in paid daycare.
  The bill would make it easier for a parent to spend more time with 
their children through provisions that encourage telecommuting and home 
businesses. And it recognizes the societal contributions of parents by 
granting 10 years worth of Social Security credits to a spouse who 
leaves the workforce during their prime-earning years to care for a 
young child.
  The Parents Tax Relief Act is about investing in human capital. The 
hard-working American family, instilling traditional values to 
children, has been the bedrock of American society. As the family goes, 
so goes the Nation.
  In recent years, the Federal Government has engaged in a massive 
experiment with paid, out-of-home daycare. As a national policy, 
through Federal subsidies, we have encouraged parents to place their 
children in daycare, and further, we have increasingly become a Nation 
where it is necessary for both husband and wife to be in the workforce 
just to cover a family's basic needs. The end result is that children 
are getting less of their parents' time when they need their parents 
the most.
  Make no mistake, both men and women have made valuable contributions 
to our national workforce. Our Nation's productivity is strong, and we 
have enjoyed a great period of national prosperity. But how long will 
it last when our children are spending less time with mom and dad? 
Sociological data confirms time and again that children do best when 
raised by a mother and a father, where one spouse works and the other 
spouse stays at home with the children.
  Unfortunately--and I believe that most mothers, especially, would 
tend to agree--we have reached a point where a family has to make a 
truly great sacrifice for one parent to stay at home to raise the 
children. I have heard so many stories of mothers wanting to stay home 
with their children, but between paying a mortgage and taxes, they feel 
helpless. They feel that they must work in order that their family can 
enjoy and maintain a middle-class lifestyle.
  It is time for us to acknowledge, through Federal policy, the 
sacrifices that parents make to invest in the upbringing of their 
children when they stay at home. That is goal of the Parents Tax Relief 
Act, and it is the reason why I am introducing this important measure.
  It costs a great sum to raise children these days, and it is 
essential to our Nation's social and economic welfare that we ensure 
Federal tax policy does not infringe on a parent's ability to afford 
that great sum.
  The Parents Tax Relief Act would establish a new national tax policy 
that would allow parents to invest more time and effort in the 
formation of their children. In the end, this type of investment in 
human capital may be the most effective way for the Federal Government 
to ensure our future economic growth and competitiveness.
  The legislative road to this new policy begins today, and I look 
forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
make it a reality.
                                 ______