Statement by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein on the Marriage Penalty Relief Act
July 18, 2000

I believe that if Congress only passes into law one piece of tax reform legislation this year, it should be marriage penalty relief.

More than 21 million couples suffer from the marriage penalty--close to 3 million in California alone. Providing marriage penalty relief is a matter of common-sense, fairness and decency; couples should not be penalized by the tax code simply because they are married.

I have advocated elimination of the marriage penalty consistently over the past year. First, as a part of the "Tax Relief for Working Families Act" that I introduced with Senator Grassley last year, then as a cosponsor of Senator Bayh's "Targeted Marriage Penalty Relief Act" introduced earlier this year, and finally with today's votes.

I believe that Senator Moynihan's substitute amendment would have provided a better mechanism for eliminating the marriage penalty, and I voted in favor of its passage. Nevertheless, I voted for Senator Roth's legislation because it will also eliminate the marriage penalty.