1-1     By:  Nelson                                           S.C.R. No. 37
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 8, 2001; March 13, 2001, read
 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Business and Commerce;
 1-4     April 9, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 7,
 1-5     Nays 0; April 9, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                        SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-7           WHEREAS, Almost 90 percent of all health insurance is paid
 1-8     for by and through employer programs, providing the majority of
 1-9     American workers with affordable access to health care; and
1-10           WHEREAS, Generous federal tax code provisions that make
1-11     employee contributions to employer-provided health insurance fully
1-12     deductible from federal individual income taxes allow employees
1-13     participating in such plans to purchase the coverage they need in a
1-14     cost-effective manner; and
1-15           WHEREAS, Some employers benefit from the health insurance
1-16     they provide since the tax code also allows them to deduct the cost
1-17     of the health insurance they offer employees from their corporate
1-18     income taxes as a business expense; and
1-19           WHEREAS, Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to
1-20     participate in an employer-provided health plan, and those who
1-21     purchase private health insurance do not receive tax breaks of any
1-22     kind; for these individuals, a dollar in pretax wages may buy only
1-23     50 cents' worth of health insurance after federal, state, and local
1-24     taxes are taken out; and
1-25           WHEREAS, Congress has responded to this issue with the 1999
1-26     Omnibus Appropriations Act, which gives a 60 percent tax deduction
1-27     for insurance expenses to those who are self-employed; this
1-28     deduction is scheduled to rise to 100 percent by 2003; and
1-29           WHEREAS, For individuals who purchase private health
1-30     insurance and bear the full cost of a policy without the benefit of
1-31     an employer's contributions, this deduction does little to make
1-32     that private insurance affordable, since tax deductions provide a
1-33     less substantial tax break than tax credits; while a tax deduction
1-34     is subtracted from a person's income when calculating taxes, a tax
1-35     credit is subtracted from the person's bottom line of taxes owed;
1-36     and
1-37           WHEREAS, Tax credits will give consumers more choice in
1-38     health plans because employees would no longer be limited to
1-39     insurance offered by employers; furthermore, consumers who bought
1-40     their own private health insurance could maintain their coverage
1-41     even if they changed jobs without any lapse in coverage; now,
1-42     therefore, be it
1-43           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
1-44     hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
1-45     provide tax credits to individuals buying private health insurance;
1-46     and, be it further
1-47           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
1-48     copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
1-49     the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of
1-50     the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of
1-51     the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
1-52     resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
1-53     memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
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