American Military News by Tom Benning December 08, 2019
Relief seemed imminent for Becky Welch from tax legislation that inadvertently created a financial burden for the Wylie mother of two, along with thousands of other Gold Star families who’ve had loved ones die while serving in the military.
The GOP-run Senate had passed a fix. The Democrat-run House had done the same, folding a similar correction into a broader bill. The two chambers needed only to reconcile their differences – more over procedure than policy – to rectify the costly error.
That was just before Memorial Day in late May.
Six months later – with Veterans Day now having come and gone – nothing has changed, leaving Welch and others with bruised bank accounts as Congress proves incapable of passing a simple fix that has universal support in both political parties.
The stalemate over the Gold Star tax glitch offers one of the starkest examples of Congress’ struggle to tackle even basic problems, including those of lawmakers’ own creation.
No one in Congress intended to increase taxes on families who’ve had a spouse or parent die while in uniform. No one, as far as anybody can tell, wants to preserve that burden. And yet, no one has been able to break a logjam that’s costing some families thousands of dollars a year.
More:
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2019/12/a-mistake-by-congress-hiked-taxes-on-families-of-fallen-soldiers-lawmakers-still-havent-fixed-it/
