Ellen Tauscher: “as a supporter of eliminating the marriage penalty tax, I am very disappointed in the way the Republican leadership has…”

“as a supporter of eliminating the marriage penalty tax, I am very disappointed in the way the Republican leadership has brought this issue to the floor today. It is like Ronald Reagan said over a decade ago, here they go again. Only this Republican leadership can take a consensus issue, such as the marriage penalty tax cut, and politicize it to the point of failure. The marriage penalty, as my colleague from California said, is illogical and unfair; but it is wrong to fix it in an illogical and unfair way. It is irresponsible for the Republican leadership to bring this kind of tax cut measure to the floor outside of the context of the entire budget. If we are to be fiscally responsible and maintain our balanced budget and the era of surpluses, we cannot make these kinds of decisions in a vacuum. Mr. Speaker, American working families need tax relief. A couple on their wedding day should not be handed a tax bill from the Federal Government, and in my district in the East Bay Area of San Francisco more than 65,000 working families pay a marriage penalty. This is the money they should be spending on educating their children, providing health care for their families, or saving for their retirement. Bringing this bill to this floor in this way is wrong. I urge my colleagues to support the Democratic alternative and vote no on this bill.”