[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 461]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 461]]

      WHEN AND HOW MARRIAGE TAX PENALTY IS ELIMINATED IS IMPORTANT

  (Mr. MINGE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MINGE. Mr. Speaker, it appears that the debate of the day is over 
the marriage tax penalty, and we have had a very attractive picture of 
a young couple at their wedding and an indication of what it costs that 
young couple. I do not think there is any real disagreement in this 
body over the importance of eliminating the marriage tax penalty. The 
real question is when do we do it and how do we do it.
  There have been estimates circulating in Washington that the plan 
that the Republican leadership will be trotting out this week will cost 
three times as much as would be necessary to eliminate the marriage tax 
penalty if it were limited to moderate income taxpayers, such as the 
couple whose picture we have seen.
  Also, there is a great deal of concern as to how we avoid simply 
being caught up in the enthusiasm of doing something by Valentine's 
Day. Well, for one thing, we ought to at least be adopting a budget in 
this body on a timely basis and making sure that our elimination of the 
marriage tax penalty fits into the budget that we are dealing with.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I think that we would do well to admonish ourselves 
to proceed in a very deliberate fashion, to consider the alternatives, 
and to make sure that by the time we are done we are proud of our 
product and we are proud of our process.

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