[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16386]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TAX BREAK FOR SENIORS

  (Mr. MESSER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MESSER. Mr. Speaker, every year, middle class seniors are forced 
to pay billions in taxes on their Social Security benefits. This tax is 
fundamentally not fair and penalizes folks who have paid into the 
system their entire lives.
  There is a better way. We should give these seniors a tax cut, let 
them keep more of their benefits, and create a better, fairer system 
for all Americans.
  In 1984, when Congress passed this tax on seniors, it was designed to 
only impact high-income seniors, about 14 percent. But the tax was 
never adjusted for inflation, and today, fully half of seniors are 
paying this onerous tax. In fact, there are over 280,000 Hoosiers 
making less than $75,000 per year who are subject to this tax.
  I introduced the Social Security Tax Fairness Act to give these 
seniors the tax break they deserve. This bill cuts taxes for seniors, 
single and married seniors, and ends the marriage penalty on Social 
Security benefits, too.
  Under this bill, a retired married couple with $70,000 in income will 
see $2,000 in tax cuts. It is time to deliver tax cuts for every 
American, and this legislation would ensure Hoosier seniors aren't left 
behind either.

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