Rod Grams

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. The Senator from Alabama is right. If we look at it, at a time of overtaxation, when American workers are getting up every morning, working hard, and sending this money to Washington, and then it is overtaxed--we are not talking about cutting taxes at all. We are talking right now about returning some of the surplus to make sure those people who worked hard and produced this windfall get it back. We tell our children: If you find a wallet on the street with $1,000 dollars in it, the first thing you should do is try to return it to the owner. Make sure you give the money back. Washington has found a wallet with $2.2 trillion in it, and they won't give it back. They are trying to find a way to spend it. I think our hard-working families deserve some tax credit along with debt reduction and securing Social Security, rather than leaving it for the big spenders in Washington to decide how they want to divvy up and dole out their money.

Mr. GRAMS. I thank the Senator from Alabama for his support.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I will talk for a couple of minutes about one of the issues about which I am most passionate, and that is taxes, or the overtaxation of the American people in a time of surpluses, and the refusal of this Congress, this President, to even make an attempt to have meaningful tax cuts or meaningful tax relief before the end of this Congress. In 1997, the Congress passed and the President signed into law my $500-per-child tax credit legislation. As a result, today about 40 million children in this country receive this tax credit every year, and it returns a total of about $20 billion a year in tax savings to families. That is money that families can use for savings for their children's education, for day care, for tutors, for braces, a new washer, dryer--anything--a family vacation. But it is what the family decides to spend their hard-earned money on, rather than waiting for a handout from Washington. In fact, for the first time since the 1980s, this tax credit and other Republican-initiated tax cuts have reduced the tax burden for low- and middle-income families. I have heard many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle bragging about how some people in the United States are paying less taxes today--and that is true--but it is mainly true because of the $500-per-child tax credit, nothing else that this administration or this Congress has done. Despite this tax credit, the total tax burden is still way too high for working Americans. Today, let's look at an average two-income family. The median two-income family pays $26,759 in Federal, State, and local taxes. Let's compare this with back in 1992. Those taxes were $21,320 a year--a 26-percent increase in the tax burden for average families in just the last 8 years of the Clinton administration. That is according to the Nonpartisan Tax Foundation. To date, $26,759; 8 years ago, $21,320. That shows the increase in taxes to the median-income family--not the rich of this country. They are paying more in taxes, as well. But it is the average working family that is paying the brunt of the tax increases imposed by this administration. Again, that is according to the Nonpartisan Tax Foundation. Total taxes nationwide claim 39 percent of hard-earned income, and that is more than the typical family in this country pays for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation combined. In the past few years, over 20 million Americans earning between $30,000 and $50,000 have been pushed from the 15-percent tax bracket into the 28-percent tax bracket due to our unfair tax system. They are paying almost twice as much for those incomes, pushed from the 15- percent to the 28-percent tax bracket. As low-income and minimum wage workers work harder and pay more, their payroll taxes also increase, taking a huge bite out of their hard-earned dollars--dollars that I believe are desperately needed to keep those families above the poverty line. Taxes collected by the Federal Government have reached 20.6 percent of all national income. That is the highest level since World War II. The government takes one-fifth of every dollar produced in this country every year. In the next 10 years, working Americans will pay taxes that will contribute to an over $2.2 trillion non-Social Security surplus. This non-Social Security surplus will be $2.2 trillion and that is even after assuming government spending is increasing along with the level and rate of inflation. This non-Social Security surplus comes from increased personal taxes and the realization of our capital gains taxes. I believe this money should be returned to working Americans in the form of some tax relief, debt reduction, and also Social Security reform. Yes, overtaxed American families still need tax relief today. I believe using some of the non-Social Security surplus to expand the $500-per-child tax credit is one of the right things to do because Washington, again, is taking more taxes from American families at a time when it doesn't need the money as bad as families do. I have repeatedly argued in this Chamber that the family has been and will continue to be the bedrock of our society. Strong families make strong communities, strong communities make for a strong America, and our tax policies should strengthen families and should be there to reestablish the value of families. Between 1960 and 1985, Federal taxes on American families increased significantly. For families with 4 children, the Federal income tax rate increased 223 percent; for families with two children the rate increased 43 percent. The inflation-adjusted median income for families with children also decreased between 1973 and 1994. So its income was going down and taxes were still going up. While the 1997 Taxpayer Relief Act, which included my $500-per-child tax credit, has helped to change this situation, there is still room for improvement, a lot of room for a lot of improvement. For example, combined with the dependent exemption, the tax benefits for families raising children still falls well below both the inflation-adjusted value of the original dependent exemption, and also the actual cost of raising children according to Minnesota's Children Defense Fund. In addition, this child tax credit and the income threshold for families qualifying for credit are not indexed for inflation. As a result, the value of this child tax credit would also shrink in the future and fewer families would qualify for the credit. That is why I am introducing tonight legislation aimed at expanding the tax credit. My legislation would increase the tax credit from $500 per child to $1,000, and it would be adjusted for inflation every year. It would also index the income threshold for families qualifying for this tax credit. While I strongly support this increase as well as the marriage penalty repeal and getting rid of the death tax, the only way we will achieve meaningful tax relief is to reform our entire tax system completely. Even my legislation today, I look at as just an interim step toward this very essential goal of having a tax system that is simple, fair, and easy to understand. With these proposed improvements we would allow overtaxed working families with children to keep a little bit more of their own money-- give them the opportunity to spend it on their own priorities, not looking for a handout from Washington, not saying they need another program from Washington, not that they want another big government approach--but allowing them to keep some of their dollars so they can make the determination on how they want to spend their money, a little bit more of their own money, to spend on their own priorities. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. GRAMS. The Senator from Alabama is right. If we look at it, at a time of overtaxation, when American workers are getting up every morning, working hard, and sending this money to Washington, and then it is overtaxed--we are not talking about cutting taxes at all. We are talking right now about returning some of the surplus to make sure those people who worked hard and produced this windfall get it back. We tell our children: If you find a wallet on the street with $1,000 dollars in it, the first thing you should do is try to return it to the owner. Make sure you give the money back. Washington has found a wallet with $2.2 trillion in it, and they won't give it back. They are trying to find a way to spend it. I think our hard-working families deserve some tax credit along with debt reduction and securing Social Security, rather than leaving it for the big spenders in Washington to decide how they want to divvy up and dole out their money.

Mr. GRAMS. I thank the Senator from Alabama for his support.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 812, H.R. 4931.

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged and the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 3363.

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Banking Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 5193 and the Senate then proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 803, S. 1534.

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, Senator Snowe has an amendment at the desk, and I ask for its consideration.

Mr. GRAMS. I ask unanimous consent reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. GRAMS. I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed to.

Mr. GRAMS. I ask unanimous consent the committee substitute be agreed to, the bill be read a third time and passed, as amended, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee substitute be agreed to, the bill be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 686, S. 2487.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 830, S. 893.

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bill be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate a message from the House of Representatives on the bill, S. 704, to amend title 18, United States Code, to combat the overutilization of prison health care services and control rising prisoner health care costs. The Presiding Officer laid before the Senate the following message from the House of Representatives: Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 704) entitled ``An Act to amend title 18, United States Code, to combat the overutilization of prison health care services and control rising prisoner health care costs,'' do pass with the following amendment: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate agree to the amendment of the House.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 731, S. 113.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 363, submitted earlier today by Senator Kerrey of Nebraska.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 664, S. 1438.

Mr. GRAMS

Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I understand that H.R. 5272 is at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.