Senate Floor Speech
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
July 21, 2000 -- Page: S7412

MRS. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I keep hearing the Democrats talk about tax breaks for the wealthy. I have talked to couples who make $30,000 apiece. I have asked them directly: Do you think that you are wealthy? Do you think that you do not send enough money to the Government? Do you think you are paying more than your fair share?

The answer is, they do not think they are wealthy. They do think they are doing their fair share. And they are trying to do something for their children that they will not be able to do if they send $1,400 more to Washington, DC, instead of being able to save it for their children's education or taking a family vacation or giving them extra computers or books or clothes that they would want to have for their own families.

A couple that earns $30,000 each is not wealthy. We must understand they are hard-working Americans. Many times the spouse who wants to stay home to help their children does not do so because they think they need to work to bring in the extra income. We are talking about tax relief for the hardest hit among us--people who make $25,000 a year, $30,000 a year, $40,000 a year. They are paying 28 percent in Federal income taxes. And they do not think they are wealthy. They earn this money, and they deserve to keep more of it.

We are talking about 50 million Americans who would benefit from the tax relief we are giving today. Twenty-five million couples will get relief from the marriage tax penalty.

Over 60 percent of the House of Representatives voted to pass this bill. Over 60 percent of the Senate will vote to pass this bill.

Is the President going to fly in the face of the elected Representatives--in those numbers--who want to give relief to hard-working Americans?

If we were saying that this was going to take up all of the surplus, that we were not going to be able to pay down debt this year, that would be one thing. That is not the case. Instead, we are being good stewards of our taxpayer dollars. We are putting a fence around the Social Security surplus so that it stays in Social Security. We are going to pay down the debt by billions this year.

But we think it is time to return to the people who earn the money more of the money they earn to keep for the decisions in their families.

Mr. President, tear down this unfair tax. It is time to have a tax correction for the hard-working married couples in this country.

We are sending the bill to the President today to do just that.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.