Congressman Zach Wamp on Thursday joined 230 of his colleagues in the House of Representatives to give American families a refund.

"American taxpayers deserve this refund. They have overpaid into the system and it's time they got some relief. This is real money that can make a real difference in the lives of all Tennessee taxpayers. They - not Washington - should decide how to spend the money," said Wamp.

The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Act of 2001 (H.R. 3) will provide approximately $958 billion of income tax relief over 10 years. With the passage of this bill, a Tennessee family of average income with one child will save about $1,100 a year.

"With the government running large surpluses, the folks who produced those surpluses - the American taxpayers - should get some of their money back," Wamp said.

A chief component of H.R. 3 is a re-structuring of the tax brackets by replacing the five current tax brackets with four lower rates. Currently, Americans are taxed at a rate of 15, 28, 31, 36 or 39.6 percent. The new plan will divide the tax rates into brackets of 10, 15, 25 and 33 percent.

"Folks with a lower income can not afford to lose a sixth of their paychecks each month, and no taxpayers should have to pay more than a third of their salaries to Uncle Sam. This is common sense, and it's long overdue," Rep. Wamp said.