Kay Bailey Hutchison: “Today Senator Rod Grams and I are introducing the half-and-half bill. We like to say half-and-half is more than just…”

“Today Senator Rod Grams and I are introducing the half-and-half bill. We like to say half-and-half is more than just rich milk. We want to have the plan in place so if we, in fact, have a surplus, we will start doing the responsible thing for the people of our country. We believe half should go to debt reduction, to start paying down the $5 trillion debt, and half should go to tax relief for the hard-working American family. The Federal tax burden today is the greatest that it has been in the history of our country. In fact, 38.3 percent of the average family income is spent on taxes. That is a whale of a burden on people who are trying to raise children, trying to put them through college, and we are very pleased to try to bring down that tax burden with the half-and-half Tax Relief and Debt Reduction Act of 1998. This is what our bill does. First, it eliminates the marriage tax penalty by allowing couples to file as singles. Mr. President, 21 million American couples today pay an average of $1,400 more because they got married. You see behind me an example, and this is a real example. A first-year schoolteacher in Houston is paid $27,000. A rookie police officer in Houston, TX starts out at $29,698. After they get married, their tax burden will be $638.44 more, just because they got married. We do not think that is right. We do not believe that Americans should have to choose between love and money.”