Don Nickles: “Yesterday the Senate passed legislation providing tax relief for married couples. We passed a bill that basically…”

“Yesterday the Senate passed legislation providing tax relief for married couples. We passed a bill that basically eliminates the marriage penalty tax for most married couples. The cost of the bill was $55.6 billion over 5 years and over ten years. The cost of the bill was incorrectly reported in several newspapers despite the fact that on the floor of the Senate and in a press conference later, we stated clearly that the bill that we passed was a 5-year bill, and the cost of the bill was estimated by the Joint Committee on Taxation to be $56 billion. You wouldn't know that if you read the New York Times. In today's paper: 'Senate Approves Tax Cut To Help Married Couples. Clinton Threatens Veto.' That much is correct, but the next line says, '$248 billion measure would aid even those who do not pay marriage penalty.' I dispute that claim, because it is absolutely false. The $248 billion cost they attribute to our bill is false. It is not correct. The facts are, the bill that we passed was $56 billion over the next 5 years and the next 10 years. Maybe some people didn't know that. Maybe if some Senators knew that they would have voted differently. I don't know. I want accuracy. I want people to know the facts.”