[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6571]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         GOOD TAX POLICY: THE HOME MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION

  (Mr. TANNER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TANNER. Madam Speaker, there will be a lot of rhetoric today, 
since it is tax day, about the Tax Code, and surely we can do better. 
It ought to be simplified.
  But there is one facet of it that I think is good public policy. That 
is the home mortgage interest deduction. It is simple, straightforward, 
far-reaching, and over 24 million Americans benefit from the home 
mortgage interest deduction. I believe that whatever happens with the 
Tax Code, we ought to continue that as a matter of public policy, 
because all of the things that we all know as American citizens that we 
derive from home ownership are a good goal for this government. So I 
would urge that we continue to support the home mortgage interest 
deduction.

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