Kay Bailey Hutchison: “today, for the next 30 minutes, we are going to talk about a subject that I think perhaps is the highest priority we…”

“today, for the next 30 minutes, we are going to talk about a subject that I think perhaps is the highest priority we have in Congress, and that is to correct a terrible inequity in the tax laws of our country--a penalty that we exact on married couples. You may ask, penalty on married couples? Are you serious? Well, the fact is, yes, I am serious. The Tax Code, over the years, has not kept up with what has happened in our country demographically, which is that over 64 percent of the married couples in this country today have two incomes; both spouses work outside the home, in addition to working inside the home. The Tax Code has not caught up to treating them fairly when they get married. In fact, what has happened is that we have not increased the standard deduction to be double for a two-income-earning couple; nor have we expanded the tax brackets for a two-income-earning couple. So if you take the example of a schoolteacher and a sheriff's deputy or a policeman, one of whom makes $27,000 a year, the other of whom makes $31,000 a year, they will pay an extra $717 in taxes just because they got married. Now, generally, this is a young couple who is getting married, who need the extra money now more than ever. It is a couple who want to buy their first home, want to have their first child, want to buy the extra car they will need to fulfill their responsibilities. But, in fact, we take money away from their ability to fulfill their hopes and dreams.”