Bill Lee: “I am grateful to my colleague, the distinguished Senator from Florida, for his work on this issue. He noted a couple of…”

“I am grateful to my colleague, the distinguished Senator from Florida, for his work on this issue. He noted a couple of issues that we focus on in this amendment. He noted, among other things, the marriage tax penalty. That is a more obvious defect within our Tax Code. There is another defect he also mentioned that doesn't get as much play as it should. It doesn't get as much play, especially considering the amount of damage it does. It is called the parent tax penalty. Here is how it works. We have American parents from one end of the country to the other who are essentially propping up and securing the future of our senior entitlement programs, not just once but twice and in a pretty unfair way. They prop up Social Security and Medicare two times--first, as they pay their taxes, and secondly, as they incur the substantial costs associated with child-rearing and thereby prop up and secure Social Security and Medicare. Social Security and Medicare are paid for on a pay-as-you-go basis. Many of today's workers pay for the benefits of today's retirees. Today's children are tomorrow's workers who will, in turn, be working to pay the taxes to fund the Social Security and Medicare retirement benefits of today's workers, who will be tomorrow's retirees. Those costs add up over time.…”