Washington, D.C.--As a cosponsor of H.R. 3097, the "Tax Code Termination Act," Sixth District U.S. Congressman Frank Lucas was pleased to see this bill pass on the floor of the House today by a vote of 219 to 209. The legislation would abolish the present tax code on December 31, 2002.

"It is time for Congress to answer Americans' continued cries for full reform of the tax code; in other words 'scrapping the code'," Lucas said. AWe have all been living with a complicated, indecipherable tax code for far too long.

"It is ridiculous that in order for Congress to offer tax relief within the confines of this Code, as we did in 1997, we have to do it by adding provisions and pages that complicate it further," Lucas continued. AWe are already working with a document that even Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees and tax accountants cannot always muddle through."

"By giving real reform an actual date, Members of Congress and the White House will be forced to take action to research what should be the future of tax reform for our nation, be it a flat tax, a national sales tax or some other formula," Lucas said. "This also makes the tax code reform issue a core issue for national debate from now on through the presidential election of 2000."

H.R. 3097 abolishes the current tax code effective December 31, 2002, but makes an exception for provisions specifically relating to Social Security and Medicare. Additionally, the bill requires that Congress enact a replacement tax code no later than July 4, 2002. It also declares that any new Federal tax system should be a simple and fair system.

"Of course there will be many twists and turns to be worked through in developing a tax code fairer to the American taxpayer, but it will happen if this nation wants it badly enough," Lucas said. "It would be a real tragedy to cling to a tax code that penalizes hard work, saving, and investing in the name of protecting the interests of those who make their living off the complicated Code."

H.R. 3097 must now be passed by the Senate and signed by the president to become federal law.