FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, CONTACT: (202) 225-1721
June 2, 1999
No. FC-10
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 tax burden on individuals and businesses. It will begin with tax proposals to enhance retirement and health security, including strengthening retirement plans, improving availability and affordability of health care, and increasing personal savings by reducing the tax burden on savings. The hearing will begin on Wednesday, June 16, 1999, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m. The hearing is expected to continue on additional days, which will be the subject of supplementary advisories.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from both invited and public witnesses. Also, 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 budget resolution adopted by the House of Representatives and the Senate on April 15, 1999 (H. Con. Res. 68), directs the Committee on Ways and Means to report a tax relief package by July 16, 1999. Although the budget resolution does not provide for any net tax relief in fiscal year 2000, the tax relief reconciliation bill is to include up to $142 billion in tax reduction during fiscal years 2000 through 2004 and $778 billion during fiscal years 2000 through 2009.
Along with Social Security, employer-sponsored retirement plans and personal savings are often viewed as the traditional "three legged stool" of retirement security. However, about 50 million Americans, or nearly 50 percent of the private sector workforce, are not covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan--a rate that has remained stagnant over the last 25 years. Only about 20 percent of the 40 million Americans employed in businesses with 100 or fewer employees are participating in a retirement plan. Meanwhile, the personal savings rate has fallen to a record low of minus 0.7 percent, continuing a long-term trend. At the same time, health security is a continuing concern to Americans, with the number of people lacking health insurance growing to more than 43 million.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Archer said: "We have already set aside the Social Security surplus, about $1.8 trillion, to save and strengthen Social Security and Medicare, and I am committed to working with the President and Democrats to find long-term solutions. At the same time, we have an obligation to American taxpayers to provide tax relief, because taxes are still too high. It is entirely appropriate that we begin this process by looking at ways to enhance Americans' retirement and health security."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The focus of the first hearing day will be retirement and health security, including strengthening retirement plans, improving availability and affordability of health care, and increasing personal savings by reducing the tax burden on savings. Proposals to be reviewed include pension reforms, health care incentives, long-term care incentives, estate and gift tax relief, and savings incentives.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS OF REQUESTS TO BE HEARD:
Requests to be heard at the hearing must be made by telephone to Traci Altman or Pete Davila at (202) 225-1721 no later than the close of business, Wednesday June 9, 1999. 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 on 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 they are scheduled for oral testimony or not, 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, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, of their prepared statement for review by Members prior to the hearing. Testimony should arrive at the Committee office, room 1102 Longworth House Office Building, no later than June 14, 1999. Failure to do so may result in the witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person.
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 six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Wednesday, June 30, 1999, 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, by close of business the day before the hearing.
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 submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. 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, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. 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.
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.