WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and more than 30 other senators in writing to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) opposing a measure of the multi-trillion-dollar Democrat spending bill that would raise taxes on married couples. The policy would effectively discourage marriage.
“We were disappointed to learn that in some instances the House of Representatives’ reconciliation bill creates harmful penalties for marriage. Discouraging marriage is not in our country’s best interest and sends the wrong message to our families,” the senators wrote.
“Federal policy should be designed to foster strong marriages, which are the foundation of strong families and strong communities. Unfortunately, despite its original rollout as part of the ‘American Families Plan,’ the current draft of the reconciliation bill takes an existing marriage penalty in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and makes it significantly worse,” explained the senators.
“The reconciliation bill could make the same family significantly worse off. It could nearly double the marriage penalty,” the senators continued.
“We believe that marriage is a vital social good. It is misguided and unfair for the government to build bigger barriers for couples to marry,” concluded the senators.
Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), John Thune (R-N.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) also signed the letter.
The letter is available here.
