Harry Reid: “it is interesting that on a bill pertaining to education, we are talking about how we can help 4 or 5 percent of the…”

“it is interesting that on a bill pertaining to education, we are talking about how we can help 4 or 5 percent of the people in this country. First of all, I have nothing against people making $150,000 a year. I think that is wonderful, and I hope they make even more money. But the Hatch amendment will allow married couples earning between $150,000 and $190,000 to make full contributions to ESAs and will allow couples with incomes up to $220,000 to make partial contributions. Under current law, the maximum income a married couple can earn for an ESA contribution is $150,000. The proponents of this amendment describe this amendment as a marriage penalty relief. Well, I guess from one perspective they are right. The ability of the single tax payer to make ESA contributions phases out between $95,000 and $110,000. For married couples filing jointly, the phaseout range is $150,000 to $165,000. The Hatch amendment would make the phaseout range for married couples twice that of single individuals; that is, $190,000, twice $95,000, to $220,000, twice the $110,000 previously spoken of. Accordingly, the only beneficiaries of this amendment are married couples filing joint returns earning more than $150,000 but less than $220,000 in a year. As I have said before, people making up to $220,000 a year can make partial contributions. We have yet to obtain an estimate from the Joint Tax Committee. Notice, no one has talked about how much this is going to cost.…”