Rod Grams: “I will talk for a couple of minutes about one of the issues about which I am most passionate, and that is taxes, or the…”

“I will talk for a couple of minutes about one of the issues about which I am most passionate, and that is taxes, or the overtaxation of the American people in a time of surpluses, and the refusal of this Congress, this President, to even make an attempt to have meaningful tax cuts or meaningful tax relief before the end of this Congress. In 1997, the Congress passed and the President signed into law my $500-per-child tax credit legislation. As a result, today about 40 million children in this country receive this tax credit every year, and it returns a total of about $20 billion a year in tax savings to families. That is money that families can use for savings for their children's education, for day care, for tutors, for braces, a new washer, dryer--anything--a family vacation. But it is what the family decides to spend their hard-earned money on, rather than waiting for a handout from Washington. In fact, for the first time since the 1980s, this tax credit and other Republican-initiated tax cuts have reduced the tax burden for low- and middle-income families. I have heard many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle bragging about how some people in the United States are paying less taxes today--and that is true--but it is mainly true because of the $500-per-child tax credit, nothing else that this administration or this Congress has done. Despite this tax credit, the total tax burden is still way too high for working Americans.”