Bill Thomas

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller), and I ask unanimous consent that he control the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I guess I am just a little confused. My understanding is that the substitute that has been offered to this particular bill, H.R. 6, is identical to the substitute that was offered to the bill on marginal rate reductions, H.R. 3, just a short time ago. But in listening carefully to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) and his arguments, it sounded to me as if he really wanted a tax package; not the one offered as a substitute, but one that was, in fact, a stimulus for the economy. It seems to me that if he would turn into paper the words that he offered, he would not have presented exactly the same substitute that had been presented 1\1/2\ weeks and 2 weeks ago; that, in fact, if he does want something that he professes, all he needs to do is offer a substitute that, in fact, does that. At some point we begin to wonder whether that argument is rhetoric, just as the Lexus muffler is no longer in front of us. It seems as though it is an argument of the day, but we would think that if it is the argument of the day, they would offer a substitute to the motion in front of us that at least conformed to the argument of the day. But, in fact, we have in front of us that same old substitute, that same old substitute that is less generous. The Democrats have talked about the various pieces that we have been passing. In fact, if we add them up, it is pretty obvious that the tax package that is contained in the budget that was passed yesterday is clearly more generous than what the Democrats are offering. In fact, in this substitute there really is not even any child credit, which is a major portion of the bill we are discussing and supports the President's proposal of doubling it from $500 to $1,000. And we make retroactive in this bill the first $100 increase, from $500 to $600, to occur in this year, the 2001 tax year. Some of our friends on the other side are continuing to argue that we do not have a budget in place. We, in fact, passed a budget. All the pieces fit. That argument is no longer relevant, unless, of course, they want to argue that it is not a budget yet until the House and Senate sit down and agree. Then Members may want to move to the argument that the ink on the paper of the agreement is not yet dry. Then they may want to offer another argument. The fact of the matter is they will offer argument after argument. That budget that was passed yesterday addresses the President's concerns about Social Security, talks about modernizing Medicare, provides dollars for modernizing Medicare with prescription drugs. And, please, President Bush has already established himself as the education President. His bold and far-reaching proposals of placing more dollars in the hands of teachers and parents to make sure that no child will be left behind clearly indicates that education is on the front burner of this Presidency. So I guess if we are going to argue against what is offered here today, a final adjustment on the marriage penalty contained in the Tax Code and a doubling of the credit available to hard-working taxpayers with children, that at the very least, if we are going to make arguments against the bill and offer substitutes, what we ought to do is have the arguments and the substitutes match. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMAS. I do, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller), and I ask unanimous consent that he be permitted to control that time.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds. Mr. Speaker, lest someone be confused by the last speaker, I will place into the Record a Statement of Administration Policy. It says, ``The Administration supports the House's action on H.R. 6 as another positive step on the way to passage of the President's tax relief plan.'' The administration stands squarely in support of the legislation in the House today. Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the Statement of Administration Policy as follows: Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC, March 29, 2001. H.R. 6--Marriage Penalty and Family Tax Relief Act of 2001 (Rep. Weller (R) Illinois and 225 cosponsors) The Administration supports the House's action on H.R. 6 as another positive step on the way to passage of the President's tax relief plan. H.R. 6 is consistent with the objectives of the President's tax plan, which lowers the tax burden on families and restores fairness by, among other things, reducing tax rates, expanding the child credit, and significantly reducing the marriage penalty. The Administration looks forward to working with Congress as the legislative process continues to achieve a result that best embodies the objectives of the President's plan. Pay-As-You-Go Scoring Any law that would reduce receipts is subject to the pay- as-you-go requirements of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act. Accordingly, H.R. 6 or any substitute amendment in lieu thereof, that would also reduce revenues, will be subject to the pay-as-you-go requirement. The Administration will work with Congress to ensure that any unintended sequester of spending does not occur under current law or the enactment of any other proposals that meet the President's objectives. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller) and his friends. The gentleman from Illinois is a member of the committee who probably more than any Member of this House has been identified with the long and difficult process of reaching the floor today and the passage of the Marriage Penalty and Family Tax Relief Act. (Mr. WELLER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger), a valued member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds to identify some of the rich friends that are going to be helped in this particular bill. Mr. Speaker, more than 1 million taxpayers at the lower end of the income tax brackets will find their tax liability reduced to zero in 2002. Tax relief in this bill is not just for young families. At least 6 million families, the taxpayers who are 65 or older will benefit from this bill. It is a bill that benefits all married couples with children. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds. Mr. Speaker, I do want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui), my colleague, because if we listened to his speech carefully, he did say after this tax cut passes. I appreciate his understanding of the fact that a vast majority of the Members of this House want to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Dunn), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means. (Mr. CAMP asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to bring to the floor H.R. 6, the Marriage Penalty and Family Tax Relief Act of 2001, where 43 million taxpayers will receive tax relief under this measure in calendar year 2002, and more than 60 million taxpayers when it is fully phased in. Let me also say that there are a number of people who have said that the Republicans, in moving these pieces of tax legislation to the floor, have been overly hurried, that we have not laid the groundwork in preparation for presenting these bills. As evidence of our long-term commitment and preparation for presenting H.R. 6 on the floor today, it is a pleasure to recognize the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Latham) to explain to what extent Republicans have gone to make sure that the timing of the bill on the floor today is most appropriate. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Latham).

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 104, I call up the bill (H.R. 6) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reduce the marriage penalty by providing for adjustments to the standard deduction, 15-percent rate bracket, and earned income credit and to allow the nonrefundable personal credits against regular and minimum tax liability, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the authorizing committee, I just want to take this time to thank my colleagues in the minority, the minority leader, the Committee on Rules, and the members on the committee, for acceding to the unanimous consent request for that minor change in the legislation, because what it does do is draw to everyone's attention the fact that we have a number of professionals around here who labor long and hard, and they are almost always perfect. Their work consists of something like this: on page 4, first paragraph B of section 1(f)6 of such code is amended by striking ``other than with, and all that follows,'' through ``shall be applied,'' and inserting ``other than with respect to section 63(c)4 and 151(d)4(a) shall be applied.'' And, Mr. Speaker, it all has to fit, and it all has to fit for hundreds of pages. They do it every time we bring a bill to the floor, with this exception. And I know they are chagrined, but I do want to thank everyone, because there are a number of professionals that allow us to appear on the floor and argue important issues such as this, but that the hard labor of making it fit is done by a number of professionals that we owe an ongoing debt of gratitude. And the fact they made a mistake, which really chagrins them, allows me to thank them for all those thousands of pages of no mistakes.

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Federal Government has been eating the American taxpayers' dinner for too long. We would just like to give a little of it back. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady), a new member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remainder of the time. I tell my friend, he probably ought not to use Herbert Hoover as an example. That President raised taxes and plunged us into the Depression. We are here cutting taxes. Mr. Speaker, talk is cheap. We hear talk about the weather, we hear excuses about process, we see props like cans of beans. Please, why is it so hard for the folks on the other side to say yes? Yes to returning a little bit of the tax surplus to those who paid it: hard-working Americans. Every taxpayer gets exactly the same tax reduction; no matter what my Democratic colleagues say, it is true. It is in these seven little pages. It is here. Every American this year gets the same reduction. Just say yes on H.R. 3 and relieve your pain.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sam Johnson), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I anxiously await creating a larger tax cut so the gentleman can add to the canned beans something he is quite familiar with, canned ham. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Crane), the senior member of the Committee on Ways and Means. (Mr. CRANE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I move to lay the motion to reconsider on the table.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield the remainder of the time to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert), the leader of the House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House, who has decided with his leadership that there does not need to be another time.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey), the majority leader.

Mr. THOMAS. I am, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes and 10 seconds to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the majority whip.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watts), the Conference chairman.

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the subject of H.R. 3, the bill just passed.