Unrestrained government spending is a dangerous road to deficits, so we must take a different path. The other choice is to let the American people spend their own money to meet their own needs. I hope you will join me in standing firmly on the side of the people. You see, the growing surplus exists because taxes are too high and government is charging more than it needs. The people of America have been overcharged, and on their behalf, I am here asking for a refund. Some say my tax plan is too big. Others say it is too small. I respectfully disagree. This plan is just right. I did not throw darts at a board to come up with a number for tax relief. I did not take a poll or develop an arbitrary formula that might sound good. I looked at problems in the Tax Code and calculated the costs to fix them. A tax rate of 15 percent is too high for those who earn low wages, so we must lower the rate to 10 percent. No one should pay more than a third of the money they earn in Federal income taxes, so we lowered the top rate to 33 percent. This reform will be welcome relief for America's small businesses, which often pay taxes at the highest rate, and help for small business means jobs for Americans. We simplified the Tax Code by reducing the number of tax rates from the current five rates to four lower ones, 10 percent, 15 percent, 25 percent and 33 percent. In my plan, no one is targeted in or targeted out. Everyone who pays income taxes will get relief. Our government should not tax and thereby discourage marriage, so we reduced the marriage penalty. I want to help families rear and support their children, so we doubled the child credit to $1,000 per child. It is not fair to tax the same earnings twice, once when you earn them and again when you die, so we must repeal the death tax. These changes add up to significant help. A typical family with two children will save $1,600 a year on their Federal income taxes. Now, 1,600 may not sound like a lot to some, but it means a lot to many families. Sixteen hundred dollars buys gas for two cars for an entire year. It pays tuition for a year at a community college. It pays the average family grocery bill for 3 months. That is real money. With us tonight, representing many American families, are Steven and Josefina Ramos. They are from Pennsylvania, but they could be from any one of your districts. Steven is a network administrator for a school district. Josefina is a Spanish teacher at a charter school, and they have a 2-yearold daughter. Steven and Josefina tell me they pay almost $8,000 a year in Federal income taxes. My plan will save them more than $2,000. Let me tell you what Steven says, "$2,000 a year means a lot to my family. If we had this money, it would help us reach our goal of paying off our personal debt in 2 years time." After that, Steven and Josefina want to start saving for Lianna's college education.