FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill made the following statement after Senate passage of the FY02 budget resolution:

Tax reform, one of the major elements of the President's policy prescription for America, took another important step forward today as the Senate voted to support a budget including $1.3 trillion in tax relief with retroactive relief this year. The House budget resolution called for $1.6 trillion in tax relief, and I look forward to Congress working out a final resolution that embraces the principles of the President's tax relief plan.

Americans pay a higher tax burden today than at any time in our nation's history. The President has made it a top priority to reduce the tax burden and make the tax code more fair, so working Americans keep more of what they earn.

As this process goes forward, I look forward to working with members of the House and Senate to enact the President's priorities of reducing marginal tax rates, eliminating the death tax, providing relief from the marriage penalty and doubling the child tax credit. Working together, we can eliminate the structural over-taxation in today's tax code that squeezes family budgets and imposes a drag on the economy.