WASHINGTON, DC -- "I wanted to support a good tax cut bill, one that included things that I believe in like capital gains and other growth oriented positions, but this bill just wasn't it," said Congressman Collin C. Peterson (DFL-7th District) in voting against H.R. 1215, the Tax Fairness and Deficit Reduction Act of 1995. "The Republicans didn't accept the amendment crafted by The Coalition, which would have called for deficit reduction before tax cuts.
"I did support the Gephardt substitute to the tax cut bill, which targeted the tax credits where we know they will do some good -- by aiding students who want to develop their skills to compete in today's marketplace. Initially, I had concerns about this bill as well, but Gephardt did include our amendment, which also called for all tax benefits to be permanently revoked if deficit targets were not met.
"The Gephardt substitute also included a $10,000 deduction per family for education expenses; interest on student loans would have been made deductible; an educational savings bond would have been established; and IRAs could have been used for education expenses.
"With the Democratic substitute, the money from the tax cuts would have been targeted for something good -- students getting an education or upgrading their skills. In reality, the Gephardt substitute wasn't a substitute at all. It was a whole new idea.
"I also supported the motion to recommit, which would have lowered the earnings for which a family was eligible for the $500 tax credit. With this motion, the earnings level would have been lowered from $200,000 to $95,000, thus excluding most of the wealthy people and Members of Congress. Unfortunately, that failed as well."