Susan Collins: “this is a workers' bill. This bill will benefit the American worker. It will open jobs, 1.2 million by the end of 2004…”

“this is a workers' bill. This bill will benefit the American worker. It will open jobs, 1.2 million by the end of 2004, half a million by the end of this year. This is good news for the American worker. We hear about 6 percent unemployment, but we do not hear the flip side: 94 percent of Americans are employed. This bill is about maintaining those jobs and adding jobs and making workers more competitive in the global marketplace. There is talk about unemployment benefits. Mr. Speaker, the best unemployment benefit is a job so that people in this country can collect a paycheck. This bill does that. This bill helps businesses grow so jobs will grow. Provisions of this bill will keep American companies here in America and keep those jobs here. There is nothing that the American worker cannot do. Given a level playing field of tax policies, American workers can out-produce, out-compete, and out-perform any other nation's workforce. Some people claim this tax bill is only for the rich. That is wrong, and they know it. The President has submitted a tax bill here that will help 104 million American taxpayers. Two-thirds of this workers' bill goes to child tax credits, expanding the number of taxpayers in the 10 percent bracket, eliminating the marriage penalty, accelerating marginal rate cuts, and ensuring that middle-income families do not face the alternative minimum tax. Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. The biggest problem is that it does not go far enough.”