[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17928]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        THE MARRIAGE PENALTY TAX

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on the issue of 
the marriage penalty. Today, the House of Representatives voted 
overwhelmingly, 270-158, in favor of eliminating the marriage penalty 
tax. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean it is going to become law because 
the President has vetoed the bill, and even the overwhelming margin of 
270-158 is not enough to override the President's veto.
  So 21 million American couples are going to have to suffer an 
inequity in the Tax Code again this year. They are going to have to 
suffer and pay $1,400, average, in taxes just because they decided to 
get married. If two people, a policeman and a schoolteacher, get 
married, they get hit the hardest because they suffer from the marriage 
penalty tax.
  I am very proud of the House of Representatives for trying to 
override the President's veto. I am proud that they spoke 
overwhelmingly, even though it was 20 votes shy of the two-thirds 
majority that was necessary. But we need to fix the marriage penalty 
tax. We need a President who will sign marriage penalty relief, and we 
need a President who will work with us to have real tax relief for the 
citizens of our country who are working so hard to make this economy 
great.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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