Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008

HEROES EARNINGS ASSISTANCE AND RELIEF TAX ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - May 20, 2008)

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Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I too am here to support H.R. 6081, the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act, and I think that it is very, very important that we look for every way possible to give relief to our folks who are serving in the military.

I am pleased to say that 2 years ago, the President signed into law a bill that I call the HERO Act, which allowed folks who earned combat pay to use that pay to go into taking out an IRA. Again, the idea came from an average citizen who notified our office of a concern because his son had tried to invest his combat pay into an IRA, looking to prepare for his future. We were able to get that bill passed through the Ways and Means Committee 2 years ago, and that bill went through a similar experience that this bill is going through, having passed, then meeting problems in the Senate, then having to pass again.

But I think this bill contains so many elements that will advantage people who are willing to serve in the military, and as Chairman Rangel has said, these are the people who have kept us free from the beginning of this country, and I think that anything that we can do to help them, we need to do.

I also recommend that we do something to lower our gas prices, which will help their families who are staying here in this country while they may be overseas fighting for our freedom to deal with the rising cost of gas problems. I call on the Democrat majority to come up with their commonsense plan that they have said that they had to help us lower gas prices, not just for our military, but for all Americans.

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