Rod Grams: “85 years ago today, the 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, giving Congress the power to levy…”

“85 years ago today, the 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, giving Congress the power to levy an income tax on the people. As we mark this occasion, I rise to call upon Congress to take immediate action to end the federal tax code as we know it, and end 85 years of ever-increasing hardship for America's taxpayers. Let me focus on how we got here and why we need real tax reform. Mr. President, this great Nation was born out of a revolt against the abusive taxing powers of its motherland. This tax revolt created a nation of individual liberty. In this land, a person owns himself, his labor, and the fruit of his labor. To protect individual liberty, our founders crafted Clause 4 of Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution, rejecting all direct income taxes that were not apportioned to each State by its population. This clause, as originally adopted in the Constitution, clearly reflected the genius, wisdom, and experience of our founders-- protecting individual liberty by limiting the Government's power to tax.”