Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA

Floor Speech

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Chairman Johnson, thank you for your leadership on this issue and, Mr. Doggett, for your eloquent support.

When American families are fortunate enough to have children, they often face an important decision: Can they afford to have one parent stay at home to care for the children or is it financially necessary that both parents continue to work outside the home? If they choose to have one parent stay home, it is often a great financial sacrifice that affects not only their day-to-day living but their retirement security as well.

I believe the government should support their decision by encouraging them to save for their retirement by using the Spousal IRA tax provision which became law in 1996. This provision brings a measure of equality to the Code and allows parents to contribute to IRA retirement accounts whether they work outside the home or not.

While the Spousal IRA provision was included in the Contract for America and the Contract with the American Family, it only exists today because of our dear friend and former Texas Senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Years ago, she recognized the unfairness of the Tax Code to those moms and dads who chose to stay home with their children, even if it meant missing out on the usual tax incentives enjoyed by those with outside jobs who were putting money away in a traditional IRA as a nest egg. Well, stay-at-home parents didn't have that IRA option, so Senator Hutchison went to work to balance the scales a little for those parents.

I remember Senator Hutchison for years tirelessly crisscrossing the State of Texas and lobbying her colleagues in the House and the Senate for a spousal IRA because it was the right thing to do for our families and families across the country. She never stopped raising awareness of this inequity and never gave up. I think all of us would agree that ``never giving up'' is a Kay Bailey Hutchison hallmark.

She also turned her incredible energy to getting it passed in Congress. She was finally and justifiably successful in 1996, working across the aisle with leaders like Dick Armey and the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Bill Archer; but also signed by and supported by President Clinton.

Since that time, millions of American children have benefited from their stay-at-home parents, and their parents have benefited from Senator Hutchison's magnificent work to bring some retirement fairness to these wonderful families.

Therefore, I join with my colleagues to urge them to vote in support of renaming the Spousal IRA section of the Tax Code the Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA. It is an honor much reserved for the one person most responsible for its existence.

Source