[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15138]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                            MARRIAGE PENALTY

  Mr. Speaker, we are considering another tax cutting scheme aimed at 
benefiting only the wealthiest Americans and does little to help the 
working families in my district. The scheme we are looking at now will 
benefit 5 percent of the wealthiest Americans with 60 percent of the 
tax cuts.
  The Republican plan is fiscally irresponsible that could lead to 
higher interest rates and force huge deficits or tax increases on our 
children and our grandchildren.
  Everybody wants a tax cut. I would like to see it particularly around 
April 15. The difference between the two parties is Democrats, we want 
to save the money enough to build our national defense, save Social 
Security, modernize Medicare, and pay down the national debt instead of 
ignoring these issues until they become a crisis, giving a tax cut now 
and make it a crisis later.
  I met with so many of my constituents in the last few months, and 
they recognize our number one priority is to safeguard our own country, 
protect Social Security, and provide for prescription drugs for our 
seniors.
  The failure to address these issues today will make them be paid for 
tomorrow. As Democrats, we want to make sure we do that and still have 
the tax cut.

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