Senate Floor Speech
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
July 25, 2001 -- Page: S8147

MRS. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I rise today to talk about the tax rebate checks that started going in the mail this very week. In fact, I have already talked to someone who has received a tax rebate. It made me feel so good to know that something we have worked so long to do and so hard to do is now beginning to reach the American people.

I think it is a very timely opportunity for the American people to have a little extra money in their pocketbooks, to be able to do some of the things that maybe they weren't going to be able to do, and also, hopefully, to help spur this economy that is certainly in a stagnant phase.

We are very excited that July 23 is the week that the first set of checks go out. They will be going out between now and the end of September. And everyone who paid taxes last year will receive a rebate. If you paid taxes and you are a single person, you will receive $300. If you paid $300, you will receive $300 back. If you are a single person who is the head of a household--a single mom or dad--you will receive $500 in the mail. If you are a married couple, you will receive $600 in the mail if you paid taxes and if you filed your taxes for 2000. Starting July 23, those checks will be in the mail during the course of the next 2 months.

Now, we are very hopeful that people will be able to take this money and do something that they might not have been able to do otherwise. It might be just helping buy the children back-to-school supplies or clothes or shoes; it might be a little added something for a vacation--if you are getting your check in time for vacation, or maybe you are planning on doing it. It could be investing for your pension. It could be that little added bonus of $300 or $600 that you would put into retirement. Whatever a person does with their money will help the economy because it will be an investment--an investment in something for use today or an investment in something for use over the next few years. All of that will be helpful. We are looking at layoffs being advertised in the newspaper now, so people are needing that little extra boost in many ways.

I think it is just a great opportunity to say that we do have a surplus in our Government. We are doing the job that we were elected to do in a responsible way by covering the expenses that we know we must cover--expenses such as a strong national defense, expenses for Medicare and Social Security, expenses for the welfare needs for our country. A lot of money is going into education. We are increasing education spending by 14 percent.

But there is still money left over because we have been careful with our taxpayer dollars, and we thought that the people should share in that surplus. They created that surplus and they should share in it. They pay for it. The taxpayers of our country fund the Government, and when we are efficient, we think the taxpayers who pay the bills should get the return.

We are very proud of the fact that the checks are starting to come in the mail today and people will start seeing they have money coming.

I am proud all of us in Congress have come together to do this, and I am very pleased this rebate is just the beginning. In fact, we are going to see rate cuts. Many people who have taxes withheld will see their withholding has gone down 1 percent. So less is being taken out of their paycheck. They will be paying fewer taxes next year and every year for the next 10 years.

Over the next 10 years, we will gradually decrease the marriage tax penalty. This is a tax that hits married couples where there are two working spouses and they pay more in taxes because of a quirk in the Tax Code, and we are eliminating that quirk or at least we are whittling it away. We have not totally eliminated it, but hopefully we will get to do that someday as well.

We are lowering the marriage tax penalty. We are going to eliminate the death tax, a tax that I think is the wrong approach. If one is seeking the American dream, we want them to keep the money they earn and we want them to be able to pass it to their children if they choose to do that. We certainly do not think Uncle Sam should tax a person's death, and we especially do not want people to have to sell assets--small business assets or property--in order to pay the death tax.

There is more coming. The downpayment is in the mail today, and we are very proud to be able to talk about it.