Glenn English: “Mr. Speaker, recently I had the opportunity in visiting Egypt for the first time to do something that every archeology…”

“Mr. Speaker, recently I had the opportunity in visiting Egypt for the first time to do something that every archeology buff wants to do, and that is visit the pyramids. As I descended into the bowels of the great pyramid of Cheops, I developed a fresh appreciation for the ancient Egyptian belief in resurrection. Mr. Speaker, as we move to inter this tax finally, we are looking at a provision in the Tax Code that would reaffirm the beliefs of the Old Kingdom in resurrection. This tax was first introduced in 1898, before income taxes were levied. It was designed as a temporary tax to pay for the Spanish-American War, as the last speaker noted. Since then, this tax has been repeatedly resurrected by Congress to no end. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation and urge my colleagues to vote in favor of repealing this outdated tax on our most basic communications. In my home State of Pennsylvania, this would mean $245 million in tax relief, with $75 million of that going to families who earn less than $30,000. The time has long passed to eliminate this regressive tax on the American people and on small business.”