Bill Archer: “I am from the show-me State. When my friends on the other side said there is no way that the Republican majority can…”

“I am from the show-me State. When my friends on the other side said there is no way that the Republican majority can balance the budget and provide tax relief, we showed them we could do it. Now we are telling them that we can save Social Security and provide a modest tax relief to the American people. We will show them if they give us the opportunity. There are a lot of good things in this bill. Married couples should not have to pay more in taxes simply because they say ``I do''. They are not saying I do want to pay more in tax. We provide relief. Farmers and ranchers need additional risk management tools. Small businesses should not have to pay the punitive death tax. All of these issues are addressed. But what I want to focus on is a provision that a freshman Member on the other side, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich), and I had the opportunity to sponsor called the Savings Advancement and Enhancement Act, the SAVE Act. The provision is very simple. It would provide an exclusion of up to $400 in interest and dividends from your taxes, $200 for individual filers. When you think about it, we are making a fundamental moral judgment. It is wrong to punish small savers and investors. We should be encouraging their thrift, not punishing their thrift. If this tax relief measure is included, 68 million people will be provided some relief.”