WASHINGTON, DC...U.S. Senator Peter G. Fitzgerald (R-Illinois) announced today that he is an original co-sponsor of legislation aimed at protecting unborn children from death or injury. Fitzgerald co-sponsored similar legislation in the 107th Congress.

"It is dismaying that, in this country, we need legislation to reaffirm our cherished and longstanding ideal that all unborn babies are human beings entitled to the protection of law," said Fitzgerald.

The Unborn Victims of Violence Act affords unborn children the same protections from injury and abuse that all other American children possess. The bill states that anyone who causes death or injury to a child in-utero while in the process of breaking the law can be prosecuted for causing harm to the baby as well as for the underlying crime. Further, anyone who intentionally kills or attempts to kill an unborn child will be subject to the same penalties as if he killed any other human being.

"The U.S. Congress has the opportunity to state emphatically that babies, born or unborn, deserve the protection of the law. Children are our most vulnerable citizens and it is our duty to protect them. I hope my colleagues in the Senate will pass this important bill as soon as possible," he concluded.

Last year, Fitzgerald was also an original co-sponsor of the Born Alive Protection Act, which reaffirms the equal legal status of all fully-born living infants, regardless of the circumstances of their births. President Bush signed that bill into law last August.

WASHINGTON, DC... U.S. Senator Peter G. Fitzgerald (R-Illinois) today spoke to several hundred Illinois March for Life participants at an open house he hosted in Washington, DC. Fitzgerald thanked the participants for their commitment and briefed them on key issues before the Senate.

"I want to thank all of you for your efforts to protect the nation’s most vulnerable citizens," Fitzgerald told the marchers, who traveled from all across Illinois to participate in the event. "We have a president who cares so much about our children that he designated last Sunday the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day, encouraging all of us to reaffirm our commitment to respecting the life and dignity of every human being."

Fitzgerald, an original co-sponsor of the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, thanked attendees for their support as he worked to pass the legislation. The bill, which reaffirms the status of all fully-born infants, regardless of the circumstances of their births, was signed into law by President Bush last August, at a ceremony attended by Jill Stanek of Illinois.

"Without the tireless efforts of concerned citizens like all of you here today and the commitment of a pro-life president, we would not have been able to pass the Born Alive Act into law," Fitzgerald said.

Last week, Fitzgerald became an original co-sponsor of legislation aimed at protecting unborn children from death or injury. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act affords unborn children the same protections from injury and abuse that all other American children possess.

Fitzgerald also called for a law banning partial-birth abortion. "I believe that life is sacred and should be protected. I hope this year that the U.S. Senate can work toward banning partial birth abortions. It is dismaying that, in this country, we need legislation to reaffirm our cherished and longstanding ideal that all living babies, regardless of circumstance, are human beings entitled to the protection of law."

The Illinois constituents attending Fitzgerald’s fourth annual reception were in Washington to attend March For Life Week events promoting pro-life legislation. January 22, 2003 marked the 30th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion in the United States.

WASHINGTON, DC...U.S. Senator Peter G. Fitzgerald (R-IL) announced today that he is co-sponsoring legislation to permanently end the marriage tax penalty, an arcane provision of tax law that forces many married couples to pay more in income taxes than they would if they were single. The first provision of President Bush’s new economic growth plan to be proposed, the measure would also begin providing marriage tax relief this year, rather than waiting until 2005, said Fitzgerald.

"As President Bush said in Chicago, ‘If tax relief is good for Americans three years from now, it is good for Americans today.’ Congress has already rendered its verdict on the marriage penalty — that it penalizes families and must be eliminated. Why should we keep this unfair tax on the books any longer?" asked Fitzgerald. "Now is the time to end the marriage tax penalty for good."

The marriage tax penalty forces approximately 25 million American couples to pay an average of $1,450 more in taxes simply because they are married. In 2001, Congress voted to abolish the marriage tax penalty as part of the president’s first tax relief package. That law doubles the standard income tax deduction for married couples so married individuals would receive the same deduction as they would if they were single. It also widens the 15-percent income tax bracket for married couples to twice the income levels for singles, so marriage will no longer bump working people into a higher tax bracket. However, those provisions do not take effect until 2005 and would sunset in 2011, causing the full marriage penalty to resurface in 2012. The Hutchison-Fitzgerald bill would accelerate the implementation of the original relief provisions and make the marriage tax repeal permanent.

"President Bush understands that working families need tax relief now. Ending the marriage tax penalty is the right thing to do for families and for the economy," said Fitzgerald, a member of a Senate task force on marriage tax penalty relief.

The senator also expressed hope that other provisions of the tax relief plan will be enacted in the near future, noting that the president’s package would immediately lower income tax rates for millions of hard-working taxpayers.

==> George Washington