One of the major challenges facing our country today is the middle class squeeze. Too many middle class Americans are finding it difficult to achieve the American dream. Tax cuts targeted at meeting middle class challenges can help, but until last night, it appeared as if there was not going to be room in the budget for extending tax cuts to help middle class families meet their needs. I am pleased to say that I am one of five senators to introduce an amendment that was adopted and will extend these tax cuts to help middle class Hoosiers.

Let me give you some of the specifics. The income tax for anyone paying at the 10% rate will be extended until 2012. That will help about 70 million individuals across our country and 2 million Hoosier families. The marriage penalty relief will be made permanent; it’s just not right that people pay more in taxes simply because they are married. To give you an example, a couple making $75,000 a year will receive about $600 in tax relief. It’s about $260 for a family making between $50,000 and $70,000 a year. The child credit will be made permanent, which 564,000 Hoosier families claim every year. It is $1,000 per child. We want to help alleviate the cost of raising children, and that is exactly what this credit will do. There is a credit to help families who adopt children. This is up to $10,000 for qualified adoption expenses; about 70,000 families across the country qualify for that credit every year.

Just one other example, Jim: the death tax. Only Rube Goldberg could appreciate what Congress had done with that. The credit per person was scheduled to go up to $3.5 million at a 45% rate, then vanish all together, then actually go back to the previous level, which was at a higher tax rate and a lower credit. This will make permanent the death tax at the 2009 level, which is $3.5 million per person at a rate of 45% above that. This is particularly important for small businesses and farmers, many of whom have to pay large sums to lawyers and accountants, take out insurance policies, or borrow money to avoid that tax simply because a loved one has passed on. That’s not right.

So, all these things taken together will mean substantial tax relief for Hoosier citizens. It squarely targets the middle class, and at time when middle class families are struggling to make ends meet, that is a good thing. It was at risk of being overlooked in this year’s budget, but thanks to the actions taken last night in the amendment, that hopefully will not be the case.