Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I want to say, along with many others who have talked about some of the really important legislation that has been…”

“I want to say, along with many others who have talked about some of the really important legislation that has been accomplished in the last few weeks in Congress, along with the one that I have worked the hardest for, and the one that I think will have a lasting impact, not tomorrow and not next year, but 20 years from now, and that is the homemaker IRA's. When I got to the Senate, I was very surprised that there was still the inequity against homemakers being able to save for their retirement security in the same way that someone who works outside the home is now able to do. In fact, this penalizes the one-income-earner family when the homemaker stays home and raises children. I think we should be encouraging homemakers to be able to do that, rather than discouraging them. That is why Senator Mikulski and I introduced the homemaker IRA bill in 1993. We have been working for these 3 years, and this year, Senator Roth, the chairman of the Finance Committee took up our cause. He and Chairman Bill Archer said that this would be a priority for them, and I want to thank Chairman Archer and Chairman Roth for not only saying it would be a priority, but for delivering on that promise. They have delivered homemakers of this country an equal opportunity to save for their retirement security. What this means, Mr. President, is that a homemaker will now be able to set aside $2,000 a year toward retirement security, accruing tax-free.”