[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17797]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                          MARRIAGE TAX PENALTY

  (Mr. WELLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WELLER. Mr. Speaker, there is a fundamental question this House 
of Representatives has worked so hard to address, and that is, is it 
right, is it fair that under our Tax Code 25 million married working 
couples on average pay $1,400 more in higher taxes.
  Let me give an example of a couple back in Joliette, Illinois, Shad 
and Michelle Hallihan. They have a combined income of about $65,000. 
They are public school teachers. They own a home. They have a little 
baby, Ben, a child.
  They suffer the marriage tax penalty. In fact, their marriage tax 
penalty making $65,000 a year is about $1,400. Every House Republican, 
51 Democrats joined with us, we voted to eliminate the marriage tax 
penalty. Unfortunately, Bill Clinton and Al Gore vetoed our effort to 
wipe out the marriage tax penalty for people like Shad and Michelle 
Hallihan. Al Gore says that people like Shad and Michelle who make 
$65,000 a year, own a home, have a child, suffer a marriage tax penalty 
of $1,400 a year are rich and should not be helped. That is wrong.
  My hope is today, as we vote to attempt to override Bill Clinton's 
and Al Gore's veto, that our effort to eliminate the marriage tax 
penalty and that more Democrats will join with us on this fundamental 
issue of fairness.
  We will work to help people like Shad and Michelle Hallihan, two 
public school teachers who pay higher taxes just because they are 
married.

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