Sanford Bishop: “I rise today to support repeal of the sunset provision of the Marriage Penalty Relief Act. Mr. Speaker, a recent study…”

“I rise today to support repeal of the sunset provision of the Marriage Penalty Relief Act. Mr. Speaker, a recent study found that over 728,000 married couples in Georgia, 52,000 in the district I represent, are adversely affected by the marriage penalty. Today we have the ability to remove this burden and repeal one of the most unfair provisions of our Tax Code. The family is the basic unit of society. As the family goes, so does our society go. The Bible says, he who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. Marriage is a good thing. It is awful that our current laws encourage cohabitation without marriage. Untold numbers of men and women should not be encouraged to make this choice. At best, our laws should support marriage and the family; at the least, our laws should be neutral. Today I ask my colleagues to embrace marriage, embrace the family unit, and create another reason for everyone to find their good thing. Remove the financial hassle associated with matrimony, permanently repeal the marriage penalty, and fully encourage the institution of marriage and the strengthening of our family units.”