Bill Archer: “The plan before us today does three principal things: It extends a series of tax relief provisions to help businesses…”

“The plan before us today does three principal things: It extends a series of tax relief provisions to help businesses create jobs; it helps people coming off of welfare as well as other hard to place workers to get jobs; and it includes three provisions to help farmers and ranchers who have been hard hit by tough times. This plan gives farmers and other small business owners 100 percent deduction for their health insurance costs in the year 2003, four years earlier than current law. I am particularly pleased about two other agricultural provisions. The bill lets farmers benefit from permanent income averaging, and the other provision protects family farmers from having to pay tax on farm program payments that have not actually been received in the year. Due to the importance of this non-controversial bill, I hope and expect that it will be passed in the Senate so it can be signed into law.”