CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS-JUNE 5, 1997 111 STAT. 2759 (6) The average American retiring in the year 2015 will pay $250,000 in payroll taxes over the course of his or her working career. (b) SENSE OF THE SENATE. —It is the sense of the Senate that the provisions of this resolution assume that no change in the Social Security system should be made that would reduce the value of the Social Security system for future generations of retirees. SEC. 341. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH DIVTOEND PROTECTION. (a) FINDINGS. —The Senate finds that with respect to the revenue levels established under this resolution— (1) according to the President's own economists, the tax burden on Americans is the highest ever at 31.7 percent; (2) according to the National Taxpayers Union, the average American family now pays almost 40 percent of their income in State, local, and Federal taxes; (3) between 1978 and 1985, while the top marginal rate on capital gains was cut almost in half—from 35 to 20 percent— total annual Federal receipts from the tax almost tripled from $9,100,000,000 annually to $26,500,000,000 annually; (4) conversely, when Congress raised the rate in 1986, revenues actually fell well below what was anticipated; (5) economists across-the-board predict that cutting the capital gains rate will result in a revenue windfall for the Treasury; and (6) while a USA Today poll from this March found 70 percent of the American people believe that they need a tax cut, under this resolution Federal spending will grow 17 percent over five years while the net tax cuts are less than 1 percent of the total tax burden. (b) SENSE OF SENATE. — It is the sense of the Senate that with respect to the revenue levels established under this resolution, to the extent that actual revenues exceed the revenues projected under this resolution due to higher than anticipated economic growth, that revenue windfall should be reserved exclusively for additional tax cuts and/or deficit reduction. SEC. 342. SENSE OF THE SENATE SUPPORTING FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS. (a) FINDINGS. —The Senate makes the following findings: (1) Our Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers provide essential services that preserve and protect our freedoms and security, and with the support of Federal assistance. State and local law enforcement officers have succeeded in reducing the national scourge of violent crime, as illustrated by a murder rate in 1996 that is projected to be the lowest smce 1971 and a violent crime total in 1996 that is the lowest since 1990. (2) Through a comprehensive effort to attack violence against women mounted by State and local law enforcement, and dedicated volunteers and professionals who provide victim - services, shelter, counseling, and advocacy to battered women and their children, important strides have been made against the national scourge of violence against women, illustrated by the decline in the murder rate for wives, ex-wives, and girlfriends at the hands of their "intimates" fell to a 19-year low in 1995.
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