GOVERNOR BUSH'S TAX PROPOSAL -- (House of Representatives - October 25, 2000)

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   (Mr. SHERMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

   Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, we are engaged in a great fiscal debate, a debate that is clouded by fuzzy fiscal figures. We are told by the Governor of Texas that he will provide tax relief to every American who pays taxes. This is simply not true.

   Fifteen million Americans pay FICA tax that is pulled out of their wages, and these 15 million Americans who pay FICA tax but do not pay income tax will not get a single penny of relief from the Governor's proposal.

   Second, he tells us that he will provide only $223 billion of tax relief to the richest one percent of Americans. He does this by ignoring his own estate tax repeal, which will cost $50 billion a year, $500 billion over 10 years, meaning that his plan will actually provide well over $700 billion to the wealthiest one percent of Americans.

   Mr. Speaker, this debate is important. We need to look through the fuzzy fiscal facts and see it clearly.

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