Maloney Votes to Remove Tax Hikes on Gold Star Families & Help American Workers Save for Retirement

Press Release

Today, Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) voted to pass H.R. 1994, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, a bipartisan bill that repeals the GOP Tax Law's "kiddie tax" provisions, providing urgent tax relief to surviving military families and children across the country. The bill passed 417-3 with overwhelming support.

"My father was nearly killed while serving in the Navy, but when he came home his country had his back," said Rep. Maloney. "My folks used the GI Bill and other programs to help pay for college, buy a house, and build a family. The idea that the Republican tax plan actually raised taxes on the families of men and women who died serving our country is just outrageous - thank God we were able to fix that today."

This legislation would eliminate the unexpected and unfair tax increases for Gold Star military families caused by the 2017 GOP Tax Law. The tax law as it currently stands treats military and Veteran Affairs survivor benefits as trusts or estates, which subjects Gold Star families to a tax rate as high as 37 percent. This bill would fix that wrong and do right by the children in Gold Star military families already facing the extraordinary hardship of losing a loved one.

The SECURE Act also includes numerous provisions to make it easier for American workers to save for retirement, expand opportunities for them to increase their retirement savings, and ensure that all Americans are paying their fair share in taxes. The legislation would make it easier for small businesses to offer retirement plans to their employees by eliminating outdated barriers to the use of Multiple Employer Plans (MEPs), ensure hard-working home care workers, 90% of whom are women, can receive retirement benefits by fixing a glitch in the current law, and create an automatic enrollment credit for small employers to defray start-up costs for new 401(k) plans that include automatic enrollment.

"When I was growing up my parents saved a few bucks every week in a brown envelope," continued Rep. Maloney. "It wasn't easy but they were able to raise six kids and send us all to school on one income - and they were able to retire! Barely any middle-class families in the Hudson Valley could do that today. We've got to make it easier for families to build a financial foundation that sets them and their kids up for success."

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