May 17, 2001

Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations Welcomes
Family Friendly Components of Senate Tax Proposal

As the United States Senate undertakes consideration of tax legislation, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America has welcomed what the largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization calls the "family friendly" components of the legislation proposed by a bipartisan group of Senate Finance Committee members.

In a letter to Senators, the Richard Stone, chairman of the Union's Institute for Public Affairs and Nathan Diament, the Institute's director specifically noted:

The bipartisan proposal supports families by increasing the child tax credit over the next ten years and, importantly for low-income families, makes the credit refundable. The bipartisan proposal supports the institution of marriage by setting a course for the elimination of the tax code's marriage penalty by increasing the standard deduction for couples over the next nine years so that it will be double that of single taxpayers. And it supports parental efforts to guide the education of their children by allowing increased deductions for higher education expenses and the expansion of tax free Education Savings Accounts.