Mark Kennedy: “It is the same in Minnesota. And you were right, the jobs proposal that we have passed, as we have spoken of, focuses…”

“It is the same in Minnesota. And you were right, the jobs proposal that we have passed, as we have spoken of, focuses that help to our job providers on encouraging investment. That is what creates jobs. And as it relates to helping out and providing more money in the pockets of hardworking families, it focuses that in a very appropriate way. The gentleman spoke of the per child tax credit, and I would also add the marriage penalty. As someone who has 23 years-plus of marriage under his belt and four teenagers to help pay for, I want to make sure there are not disincentives to keep you from enjoying both of those treasures of life, marriage penalty is something we have to get rid of, and getting rid of it now as this bill does is critical. We charge people when they walk down the wedding aisle more for getting married. We tax marriage. They get a little extra gift from Uncle Sam saying, Here is your bill. On average before we passed our tax relief in 2001, $1,400 more on average just for being married. Families are the foundation of our society, the foundation of our economy. Why we do that is beyond me. And accelerating this marriage penalty relief so that it is eliminated today is something that is very powerful in this bill.”