[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2003-2004]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     PRESIDENT BUSH'S TAX CUT PLAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, as someone who campaigned on the platform of 
providing tax relief for working American families, I am particularly 
proud today to announce my support for President Bush's plan to lower 
income tax rates across the board and to eliminate the marriage tax 
penalty.
  I would like to address two issues today: number one, why I am 
supporting this plan; and, number two, what our opponents are saying 
about this plan and address those issues fairly and squarely.
  First, why do I support this plan? Well, I support it because it is 
going to make a meaningful difference in the lives of so many working 
families here in the United States.
  For example, for a married couple raising two children on a salary of 
$50,000 combined, they will receive a 50 percent tax cut. That is a 
savings of $1,600 a year. Now, a savings of $1,600 a year for that 
family translates into an extra $133 of groceries in their refrigerator 
every month for those two children that otherwise would not be there.
  Now, as someone who himself grew up in relatively humble 
circumstances, raised by a single mom on a salary of a secretary with 
three children, I do not have to guess about how much working families 
and single mothers need tax relief. And that is why I am so 
enthusiastic in my support of President Bush's tax cut plan.
  Now, not everybody agrees with me here. Our opponents have two things 
they are saying about this bill. And I believe these things are myths. 
But let us go ahead and address them squarely.
  The first thing they say is this tax cut is simply too big, it does 
not leave enough money to shore up Social Security, Medicare and pay 
down the debt.
  Well, here is the truth: 70 percent of this tax surplus goes to shore 
up Social Security, provide for prescription drugs, pay down the debt, 
with only 30 percent being used to return to taxpayers in the form of 
tax relief, the very folks who are responsible for this tax surplus.
  Now, they say we could leave that 30 percent here in Washington, D.C. 
And I suppose we could. But what would happen? Congress would simply 
spend that money. Whether it is Republican Congress, Democrat Congress, 
or alien Congress, that money will be spent. It deserves to be returned 
to the people who paid these excessive taxes.
  The second myth they say is that this is a tax cut just for the rich. 
Well, let us look at that little myth there. For a secretary making 
$38,000, a single mom raising three children, she will get a 100 
percent tax cut, she will pay no taxes under this plan. For her boss, 
the lawyer making $100,000 a year with two kids, he will get a 16 
percent tax cut. Secretary, 100 percent. Attorney, 16 percent. The low-
income Americans are the big winners under this plan.

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  Now, why is that? Because we take the lowest rate of 15 percent and 
lower it down to 10 percent and we double the $500 per child tax 
credit.
  Now, with that said, some folks say, well, that is all fine and good 
for the single moms and folks at the low end of the spectrum, let us 
just have taxes for the special people, let us not have the taxes for 
what they call the rich.
  Well, once again, all of us pay taxes and all of us are entitled to 
tax relief. The truth of the matter is that the top 10 percent of wage 
earners in this country pay 66 percent of the taxes. These are the same 
people who every year create hundreds of thousands of jobs. Are these 
folks not entitled to the tax relief? Should we not encourage them to 
provide additional jobs in this economy?
  In summary, this tax relief is desperately needed. It is going to 
make a meaningful difference in the lives of single moms and working 
families. A tax cut is not too big and it is not just for the rich.
  In closing, let me say this. The leading cause of divorce in the 
United States today is arguments about money. On this Valentine's Day, 
we have a happy message of hope for married couples who are struggling 
to make ends meet: Help is on the way.

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