Neal Dunn: “Well, I say if we cannot afford the tax cut at this time of surplus, when can we ever afford a tax cut? It is the…”

“Well, I say if we cannot afford the tax cut at this time of surplus, when can we ever afford a tax cut? It is the taxpayers who created this surplus for us and it is they whom we should be rewarding by turning back some of those dollars for them to spend. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the reconciliation measure and in opposition to the substitute motion. President Bush has very wisely made rate reduction the foundation of his tax relief proposal. He wants to help all income tax payers, especially low- and moderate-income tax payers as quickly as possible and this bill embodies his commitment to give Americans broad-based tax relief. The bill is fair, it is fiscally responsible, and it is good for the economy. Rate reduction is fair. Everybody who pays income taxes will receive tax relief under this proposal. It targets no one in and no one out. In addition, it provides retroactive tax relief for people in the lowest brackets by reducing the 15 percent rate to 12 percent effective at the beginning of this year. This tax relief bill takes 6 million people off the tax rolls, and it enables a woman on her own with two children to earn up to $31,000 in a year without having to pay income taxes.”