Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Levin for yielding, and I thank Congresswoman McSally for working with me on introducing this bipartisan legislation. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3590, the Halt Tax Increases on the Middle Class and Seniors Act. As the cost of health care shifts onto households, Congress must act to make sure that hardworking families can make ends meet. This bill provides commonsense and needed relief for hardworking Arizona families. It lowers the adjusted gross income threshold for claiming the medical expense deduction back to 7.5 percent and prevents a looming tax hike on Arizona seniors. According to a 2014 CRS report, medical expenses are the second largest deduction for taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of under $50,000. Middle-income families who itemize deductions are more likely and more able to claim this deduction than high-income earners. According to 2014 IRS data, 98 percent of those claiming this deduction have incomes less than $200,000, and 84 percent claiming this deduction make less than $100,000 a year. More than half of those who claim this deduction earn less than $55,000 a year. So if we talk dollars, 94 percent of the dollars that go back to hardworking families to cover medical expenses went to filers who earn under $200,000 a year. While the annual growth in healthcare spending has slowed to historically low rates, the out-of-pocket costs for hardworking families continue to rise.…”