“Families,” he said, “have been hit hardest by this

“Families,” he said, “have been hit hardest by this dramatic erosion of the dependent deduction.”

In his testimony, Rep. Wolf pointed to the support from both parties for the measure, and said the bill “is the only measure before this committee that already has the broad-based support needed to pass. It would be a tragedy for families if the one tax bill, the one piece of the economic growth package that is already agreed to, is left out of the final pie.”

Rep. Wolf is the co-sponsor of a second tax-relief measure also targeted toward moderate income families. That bill would provide an additional $500 tax credit per child under five to families earning less than $50,000. He pointed out that the increase in the standard deduction would lower the taxpayer’s taxable income, while the tax credit would also offset their tax liability.

The two measures taken together, Rep. Wolf said, would provide a family with two young children, earning $30,000 a year, with $1,400 in tax relief.

“Easing the dollar deficit,” he said, “can in turn help ease the ‘time deficit’ so that parents will be able to spend more time with their families . . . [and] allows individuals and families to have more choices and opportunities. It is a win-win policy for both families and government.”

Rep. Wolf, who has represented Northern Virginia since his election to Congress in 1980, picked up Rapfiahannock

and Fauquier counties in he decennial redistricting, which shifted several rural counties along the Blue Ridge Mountains from the 7th to the 10th District.

He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, and is the ranking Republican on the Select Committee on Children, Youth and . Families, where he has served since the committee was formed in 1982.

He is also the senior minority member of the Treasury-Postal