FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 13, 2002

LARSON VOTES IN FAVOR OF FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE REPEAL OF SUNSET ON MARRIAGE PENALTY RELIEF

GOP Bill Would Prevent Social Security and Medicare From Being Strengthened

WASHINGTON, D.C.- U.S. Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01) today voted in favor of the Democratic plan to give permanent tax relief to married couples without draining money from Social Security. Larson voted against H.R. 4019, the Republican version of the legislation.

Larson stated: "The Republican leadership is proposing another tax cut costing hundreds of billions of dollars primarily benefiting the wealthiest Americans at a time when the first priority of Congress should be passing prescription drug relief for the elderly. The Republican plan is also deeply flawed; more than half of the benefits will go to those who actually receive a "marriage bonus" when they get married. The Republican leadership also refuses to address the growing problem of the Alternative Minimum Tax, which means that by the time many couples receive significant marriage penalty relief, they will have to give it back to the federal government through the AMT."

The Democratic bill to repeal the sunset provision on Marriage Penalty Tax relief includes a trigger requiring certification by the Office of Management and Budget that permanent repeal of the tax will not result in a raid on the Social Security trust fund in the ten years following 2011, when the tax relief is set to expire. If OMB does not certify this, the tax cuts would be put on hold until such time as a certification can be made.

The Republican bill is projected to cost $460 billion between 2013 and 2022, draining funding for Social Security at a time when the baby boom generation will be retiring. The bulk of the Republican bill is not actual marriage penalty relief, but instead is a widening of tax brackets that primarily benefit higher income tax payers.

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