[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19706]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             VICE PRESIDENT AND MARRIAGE PENALTY TAX RELIEF

  (Mr. ARMEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, Vice President Al Gore, who once claimed he 
invented the Internet, now has an equally incredible claim, that he 
will get rid of the marriage penalty. The marriage penalty forces 
married couples to pay higher taxes than they would if they were 
single. Simply put, the marriage penalty is a tax on marriage.
  The Vice President's proposal does not repeal the marriage penalty 
for all marriage penalty victims. The Vice President's plan only helps 
couples who take the standard deduction. That means that you would only 
get the marriage penalty reduction if you do not itemize your taxes.
  In other words, under the Vice President's scheme, you will not get 
one penny of marriage penalty tax relief if you own a home and deduct 
your mortgage interest, if you donate to your church and other 
charities and deduct your contributions, if you own property and deduct 
your real estate or property taxes, if you deduct your State and local 
income taxes, if your spouse or child is ill and you deduct 
skyrocketing medical bills, or if you work at home and deduct the cost 
of your home office.
  No one, Mr. Speaker, should be subjected to higher taxes simply 
because they are married. Taxing marriage is wrong. It is wrong whether 
a couple itemizes their taxes or not.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the American people, e-mail Vice President Gore, 
tell him to get it right. He did so well on the Internet, he should be 
able to do so well on the marriage penalty.

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