Bob Kerrey: “I support this tax bill as a way to give working families tax relief and continue our economic growth. I'm delighted…”

“I support this tax bill as a way to give working families tax relief and continue our economic growth. I'm delighted that the tax cuts for working families in this agreement were made more progressive by Democrats. I support estate tax relief targeted at family farms and small businesses as well as a phase-up in the self-employed health deduction to 100 percent. And I am pleased this agreement left out attempts by the other body to raise taxes on ethanol and make it too easy for employers to reclassify their employees as independent contractors. I would have been hard-pressed to support this agreement had the language on independent contractors survived knowing that having this provision in law would have had significant and harmful effects on the health and financial well-being of American workers. Consider that under current law, only 2 percent of independent contractors have health and retirement benefits, while 50 percent of private employees have those benefits--adopting the language proposed by the other body would surely have had harmful health and financial consequences for the American worker. Mr. President, I am pleased that a number of savings and investment incentives like expanded IRA's and education IRA's are included in this agreement. These provisions are good for what they are.…”