ADVISORY

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-1721
January 21, 1998
No. FC-10

Archer Announces Hearing Series on
Reducing the Tax Burden

Congressman Bill Archer (R-TX), Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Committee will hold a hearing series on proposals to reduce the Federal tax burden on the American public. The hearing will begin on Wednesday, January 28, and be continued on Wednesday, February 4, and Thursday, February 12, 1998, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m. each day. The first hearing day will address proposals intended to correct perceived unfairness in the tax code, focusing on the "marriage tax penalty," and the estate and gift tax (or "death tax").

Oral testimony for January 28th will be from invited witnesses only. Both invited and public witnesses will have the opportunity to testify on Feb 4th and 12th. Any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee or for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:

The Federal tax burden, as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, has been rising in recent years. It is currently 19.9 percent, a height not reached since World War II. The annual Federal budget deficit has declined greatly over the past several years, and current projections show years of budget surpluses. The rising tax burden and improved fiscal outlook have elicited various tax reduction proposals. This hearing series is designed to explore some of these proposals.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Archer stated: "If the politicians in Washington exercise restraint, we soon may find ourselves in a post-deficit era, where our greatest challenges will be social and moral, not economic. I believe the era we're entering will test how big a government the people want, or whether they want a smaller, less taxing government that enhances individual power, freedom, and opportunity, strengthening our moral fabric, freeing families to provide more for themselves, their neighbors and their communities. We must care for each other more, and tax each other less."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The first hearing day will address proposals intended to rectify perceived unfair provisions in the tax code. It will focus on the "marriage tax penalty" and the estate and gift tax (or "death tax"). The second day (February 4th) will consider tax rates: What are they and what should they be? That session also will address alternative minimum tax relief for individuals, proposals to reduce Federal income or payroll taxes, and provisions in the tax code that operate as "hidden rates" and which cause effective tax rates to exceed statutory rates. The third day (February 12th) will review new savings incentives and likely will address modifications to the new capital gains law, such as eliminating the 18-month holding period for the new 10 and 20 percent capital gain rates, and proposals to provide an exclusion for interest and dividend income. The hearing may be continued on additional days on other tax reduction topics.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS OF REQUESTS TO BE HEARD:

Requests to be heard on February 4th and February 12th must be made by telephone to Traci Altman or Bradley Schreiber at (202) 225-1721 no later than the close of business, Thursday, January 29, 1998. The telephone request should be followed by a formal written request to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. The staff of the Committee will notify by telephone those scheduled to appear as soon as possible after the filing deadline. Any questions concerning a scheduled appearance should be directed to the Committee staff at (202) 225-1721.

In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, the Committee may not be able to accommodate all requests to be heard. Those persons and organizations not scheduled for an oral appearance are encouraged to submit written statements for the record of the hearing. All persons requesting to be heard, whether or not they are scheduled for oral testimony, will be notified as soon as possible after the filing deadline.

Witnesses scheduled to present oral testimony are required to summarize briefly their written statements in no more than five minutes. THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. The full written statement of each witness will be included in the printed record, in accordance with House Rules.

In order to assure the most productive use of the limited amount of time available to question witnesses, all witnesses scheduled to appear before the Committee are required to submit 300 copies of their prepared statement and an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format, for review by Members prior to the hearing. Testimony should arrive at the Committee office, room 1102 Longworth House Office Building, 48 hours prior to each hearing day (no later than 10:00 a.m.).

WRITTEN STATEMENTS IN LIEU OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE:

Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) single-space legal-size copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format only, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Wednesday, March 11, 1998, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Committee office, room 1102 Longworth House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:

Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.

2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.

4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.

The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.

Symbol to Show Committee Seeks to Assist Persons with Disabilities at the Committee's facilities.The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above.