May 17, 2001 Mr. CONRAD. I thank the Presiding Officer, and I thank my colleague from Texas, who is a respected colleague. Let me just say we agree that the marriage penalty relief ought to be moved up. We strongly agree on that proposition. Mine does it faster than the offering of the Senator from Texas. Mine deals with both elements of marriage penalty relief that are in the bill, both the standard deduction--doubling it for couples over what is provided a single individual--and also providing a fix on the 15-percent bracket. The Senator from Texas starts hers earlier than the underlying bill but does not complete the phase-in until the year 2008 on the standard deduction. And she does not speed up the fix on the 15-percent bracket at all over what is in the current bill. My amendment would provide that relief next year as well. In addition, we have a different way of paying for it. I ask those in the very top rates--the 3 percent who are in the top two rates--to defer so that we can give this relief immediately. That seems to me to be a fair way to proceed. It seems to me to be the priority of the American people. We have 50 million people who are affected by the marriage penalty. Under the current bill, nothing is done, nothing for 4 years. Then it is phased in, and it is not completed until 2008. My amendment says, if we say it is a priority, let's make it a priority. Let's put in place marriage penalty relief next year. Let's do the job. I hope very much my colleagues will give close consideration. We do not change where the rates ultimately wind up. We do delay the reduction for the top rates, the two top rates that affect only 3 percent of America's taxpayers, so that we can give 50 million people relief from the marriage penalty now, something I think every Senator in this Chamber has spoken for at one time or another. Mr. President, how much time do I have remaining? The PRESIDING OFFICER. Thirty seconds. Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I am happy to yield back that time. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Kennedy be added as an original cosponsor of the amendment. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There is a sufficient second. The question is on agreeing to the Conrad amendment No. 654. The clerk will call the roll. The result was announced--yeas 44, nays 56, as follows: