[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6569]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                TAX DAY

  (Mr. FARR of California asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FARR of California. Madam Speaker, today is tax day. Everybody 
knows how much they pay in taxes, but let us not forget that we also 
have this great country which has great public institutions, a great 
system of highways, parks and museums. Essentially, the public 
infrastructure that is paid by these taxes is second to none.
  We are also a country of private property, and today we think about 
homeownership. Why? Because in our taxes we are allowed to deduct 
homeownership. We need to do a better job, though, with homeownership 
in America. We have 67 percent of Americans now owning homes, but those 
in the audience who are between the ages of 25 and 29 have to improve 
that. There is no better way to improve it than to be able to deduct 
the home mortgage from our taxes.
  So I urge my colleagues to support the resolution of the gentlewoman 
from New Jersey (Mrs. Roukema), which will be introduced today, so that 
we can continue to preserve mortgage interest deductions in our taxes.

                          ____________________