Earl Pomeroy: “Mr. Speaker, I am very worried that somebody might hurt themselves patting themselves on the back on this one so let me…”

“Mr. Speaker, I am very worried that somebody might hurt themselves patting themselves on the back on this one so let me put this in perspective. What we are about to legislate is a congressional directive to the Treasury Department, to the agency overseeing the IRS, to do what the IRS is doing. We are all for simplified tax forms for seniors, and I will be happy to support this legislation. In other words, in this instance, Congress appears to be scrambling to try and get in front of the parade that is already well under way. We have prospects, I believe, of bringing this online with or without this legislation. But because everyone is for tax simplification for seniors, I urge my colleagues to vote for it. To correct any misunderstandings, seniors are not presently precluded from using the 1040EZ form. On the other hand, it does not capture a senior citizen deduction relevant to their needs. That is why seniors using simplified forms tend to use the form 1040A.”