[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21566]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2488, TAXPAYER REFUND AND RELIEF ACT OF 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. CASS BALLENGER

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 5, 1999

  Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to offer my support for the 
compromise version of the Taxpayer Refund and Relief Act of 1999, a tax 
relief package which is a consequence of our strong economy and the 
successful 1997 Balanced Budget Agreement. The commitment to tax relief 
demonstrated by Chairman Bill Archer and the Members of the Committee 
on Ways and Means, and their counterparts in the other body, is the 
main reason we are debating this legislation today. Chairman Bill 
Archer deserves special recognition for his drive to return excessive 
federal income taxes to the American taxpayers.
  We have pledged to return to taxpayers only the surplus dollars 
generated from excessive federal income taxes. It is important to note 
that H.R. 2488 conditions the tax reductions on there being no increase 
in the public debt. Specifically, if this debt increases, H.R. 2488 
would delay the next phase of tax reductions for one year. This so-
called ``trigger'' was included to reassure voters that the tax cuts 
would be forthcoming only if the expected budget surpluses materialize 
over the next ten years.
  Even if this $792 billion tax relief would become law, Congressional 
Republicans expect to reduce the pubic debt from $3.7 trillion to $1.6 
trillion over the next ten years (a reduction of over $2 trillion). The 
public debt is the debt resulting from the federal government's sale of 
Treasury bonds to mutual funds, individuals and foreign investors. The 
amount of public debt reduction will be twice the amount returned in 
tax relief. We will be paying down the public debt and, as a result, 
keeping interest rates low and the economy strong.
  Fundamentally, I believe this bill continues the progress 
Congressional Republicans have made in returning to Americans and their 
families more control over their lives and over the federal government. 
Unlike President Clinton who plans to veto this tax relief, we believe 
that our constituents can make better decisions about spending their 
wages than Congress, the White House and Washington bureaucrats.
  I support this historic $792 billion tax relief package which offers 
taxpayers a one percent reduction in all individual income tax rates 
and virtually eliminates the marriage penalty. In addition to 
provisions designed to reform pensions and enhance retirement security, 
H.R. 2488 would: expand education savings accounts, student loan 
interest deductibility and prepaid tuition plans; provide more money to 
school districts for school construction or renovation; make health 
insurance and long-term care insurance more affordable and accessible; 
provide an additional exemption for taxpayers caring for elderly family 
members at home; lower the capital gains tax and phase out the estate 
tax; protect child, education and child care tax credits by phasing out 
the alternative minimum tax; and allow a deduction to cover the cost of 
prescription drug insurance coverage for seniors once Congress passes 
Medicare reform.
  I welcome these changes in the tax code and those contained in the 
Taxpayer Refund and Relief Act of 1999 which address employee stock 
ownership plans, or ESOPs. The compromise bill contains a provision 
(Section 2 of the ESOP Promotion Act of 1999, H.R. 2124) which would 
expand the deduction of dividends paid on ESOP stock. Such 
simplification of the tax code will be a welcome change for ESOP 
companies and their employees who wish voluntarily to reinvest their 
dividends in more company stock.
  Finally, I am grateful for the adoption of a Senate provision which 
addresses ESOPs set up by S corporations, ensuring that this change in 
the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 is not misused. If enacted, this change 
would resolve any unintended consequences of our 1996 and 1997 tax laws 
and ensure employees of S corporations can participate in ownership 
through an ESOP.
  Again, I am pleased by the positive leadership taken by Chairman 
Archer and the Ways and Means Committee to reward hard-working 
taxpayers and their families, small businessmen and women, and to boost 
employee ownership.

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