Mark Dayton: “I salute the Senator from Montana and the Senator from Iowa and their colleagues for their resolve in making the House…”

“I salute the Senator from Montana and the Senator from Iowa and their colleagues for their resolve in making the House legislation into a responsible bill. My amendment would make it a better bill. It would take the money that would go to millionaire taxpayers and give it, instead, to middle-income taxpayers. We do so by tripling the amount of income that is taxed at the 10-percent rate. We keep the committee's increases in the child tax credit, its elimination of the marriage penalty and the alternative minimum tax, and its offsets would extend unemployment benefits for those who have currently run through them. It would also freeze the top rate at its present level. In my amendment, a family of four with an income of $40,000 a year would receive a $2,232 tax cut in 2003, which is more than double the amount in the committee bill. A single taxpayer with an annual income of $40,000 would receive a $600 tax cut compared with $282 under the tax bill. And that is with the same cost--$350 billion--over 10 years, with tax relief evenly distributed and a much better economic stimulus. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.”