Senate Floor Speech
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
April 15, 1999 -- Page: S3745

MRS. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I believe everyone knows that today is tax day in America. I think we have been talking about it. And I think it is very appropriate that we have a budget resolution on the floor today that we can say will give tax relief because that is set aside in this budget.

The tax burden on Americans is too high. The average American family pays 38 percent of its income in taxes to some government--the Federal Government, the State government, and the local government. As a percentage of gross domestic product, taxes are higher today than they were at any time in this country since World War II.

That is why the budget resolution that we are going to pass is significant. The American people should know that on April 15 this Congress is going to pass a plan that provides a $770 billion tax cut over the next 10 years. There couldn't be a clearer message from this Congress about what our priorities are, and that is tax relief for hard-working American families.

There are some, including the President, who oppose our plan. They say that Washington will save money for working Americans. But we know that is not going to happen. We have heard that before. And we know that we haven't had a budget surplus nor tax cut in this country--until this Republican Congress was elected--for 40 years. So we know who cares about tax cuts for the American family.

I think we have chosen the right course. Giving the extra money to the Government would not ever get it back to the people. But we believe that people who earn the money have the right to it. And that is why we will have a tax bill when this budget is passed.

There are many tax proposals that come before the Senate, many of which I support. Certainly reducing capital gains taxes would be good for our country. Reducing or eliminating the estate taxes would be good for this country; and across-the-board tax relief, 10 percent across the board, so that when you are writing your check today, you can just take 10 percent of the check you wrote and know that would not be in your tax bill next year and you would be able to spend that money the way you think it is best for your family.

But there is one that is my priority, and it is to eliminate what I think is the worst transgression we have in our Tax Code. That is the marriage tax penalty. Right now, 21 million American families pay up to $1,400 on average more just because they are married. So we say to people, you have to choose between love and money in our country.

If you want to get married, start a family, and build up your savings to make a downpayment on a new home, we will make you $1,400 less able to do that. That is a lot of money to the hard-working couples who are hardest hit by this tax.

I have introduced legislation to eliminate this penalty. We could allow couples to split their incomes evenly or we could double the standard exemption to widen the tax brackets for married couples so they match those of single filers. We could also let people choose if it is better for them to file as singles or as married couples. That way, no one would pay a penalty for getting married. I hope it will be our highest priority with the tax cuts that are provided in this budget.

I read in USA Today an op-ed piece this morning on the marriage tax penalty. Their contention is that this only affects the higher-income couples. They say that the bulk of those suffering this marriage tax penalty are dual-income families at the middle-income level, $50,000. I have a legislative correspondent in my office and his combined family income is $50,000. He makes about $25,000 and his wife must work for them to be able to make ends meet. She makes about $25,000. They are a young couple. I don't think that people who make $25,000 a year are wealthy, and I most certainly think if they have to have two incomes in order to make ends meet that we are not increasing the standard of living in this country. To go forward and say two people who make $25,000 a year should owe Uncle Sam $1,400 more, I think is absolutely wrong, particularly a young couple that is trying to get started, to make a downpayment to buy a home.

I hope we can correct this inequity. I think two-income earners at the $25,000 level deserve some help. I am going to try to get it for them.

This is a red letter day. This is the day that we see how much it costs for us to support government. All of us want to do our fair share. I would never say we should have no taxes because we do enjoy good service--hopefully--for the taxes that we pay. However, 38 percent of a person's income in taxes is hard to explain. It is hard to explain that you are getting that much service for your dollars. I think you could get a lot less service and a lot more choice if we lower the taxes for everyone in this country so that hard-working Americans could see the benefits of working harder and doing better. That is the American dream. That is what made this country great--that we would say to people, if you work harder you can do better and you can give a little more to your family or your children. That is why adding on some of these taxes is so important.

Today, we are going to pass a budget resolution that will do that, that will say to the hard-working American that help is on the way. I just hope we can come to terms with the President so that we will be able to pass a tax bill that really will go to the hard-working American who is struggling to make ends meet.

I appreciate the leadership of Senator Domenici and Senator Lautenberg for putting this budget resolution forth. I think it is a good one. It is a responsible spending of our hard-earned tax dollars. Most important, on tax day, I hope people realize that we are going to try to cut that burden. This budget resolution is a start in the right direction.

I yield the floor.