[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5362]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     ARMED FORCES TAX FAIRNESS ACT

  (Mr. MATSUI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, we were to take up a bill today, which was 
H.R. 878, and the bill would have basically provided tax relief for our 
young men and women who are in the armed services, particularly those 
in the Persian Gulf at this time, 240,000 of them. It would have 
eliminated capital gains tax if and when they would sell their private 
residence. And if in the event that one or two of them would pass away 
or die, it would provide nontaxability of any survivor benefits that 
they would receive. This bill needs to be passed very quickly, because 
the President plans to go to war within the next 2 weeks or so. We are 
almost certain of that.
  One of the problems is that last week, as the bill was in the House 
Committee on Ways and Means, my Republican colleagues added to the 
legislation a number of special interest tax breaks. Unfortunately, now 
it will slow the bill down. They took it off the floor of the House 
today because they could not even get enough votes on their side of the 
aisle to pass it. And, secondly, if it should pass, it will get bogged 
down in a House-Senate conference.

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