Gilbert Gutknecht: “Mr. Chairman, we have heard all throughout the day and actually for several years now this recurring theme from the…”

“Mr. Chairman, we have heard all throughout the day and actually for several years now this recurring theme from the people on the other side about reckless, exploding, risky tax cuts for the rich. Well, let us talk about the tax relief that is in our bill and let us let the American people decide just how risky or reckless and how much this really is for the rich. We are talking about ending the marriage penalty tax. We believe fundamentally it is wrong to say they ought to pay extra taxes just because they have a marriage license. We think that is wrong. We think it is wrong that Social Security recipients have this earnings limit and have to pay among the highest tax rates of any working people in America. We think it is wrong that families have to visit the IRS and the undertaker in the same week. We think it is wrong that we have a confiscatory tax of 55 percent on estates we have been paying taxes every year. We think it is wrong that we are not making it easier for expanded education savings accounts. We want to increase the health care deductibility for self-employed for farmers, small business people. We want to provide tax relief and breaks for poor communities. And we want to strengthen private pension plans. Now, if those are tax cuts for the rich, if those are risky schemes, well, then let us have more of it. Let us compare our plan to the Clinton-Gore plan.”