I write to you today encouraging your active support for the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Bill, H.R. 2037. This legislation would affirm the religious freedom of taxpayers who are conscientiously opposed to participation in war, provide that the income, estate, or gift tax payments of such taxpayers be used for nonmilitary purposes, create the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund to receive such tax payments, and improve revenue collection.

As you know, citizens are petitioning the government for the right to pay 100% of their taxes without violating deeply held religious or ethical convictions against participation in war. Conscientious Objection to military service has been available for many years and has had a long history in the United States. Without this bill, many of these people have had their wages garnished, some have cars and even houses seized, and they are often harassed by the Internal Revenue Service.

The Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund bill:

• Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish in the Treasury the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund for the deposit of income, gift, and estate taxes paid by or on behalf of taxpayers: (1) who are designated conscientious objectors opposed to participation in war in any form based upon the taxpayer's deeply held moral, ethical, or religious beliefs or training (within the meaning of the Military Selective Service Act); and (2) who have certified these beliefs in a manner designated by the Secretary of the Treasury.
• Requires that funds in the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund be allocated annually to any appropriation not for a military purpose.
• Declares the sense of Congress that any increase in revenue to the Treasury resulting from the creation of the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund shall be allocated in a manner consistent with the purposes of the Fund.

An objection to the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Bill is its imagined cost to the federal government. The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) proved this incorrect some years ago. Your colleague, Representative John Lewis of Georgia, and Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa wrote the Secretary of the Treasury, then Mr. Lawrence H. Summers, asking for the following information:

• Would implementation of the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund (RFPTF) Bill impose a major administrative burden on the Department of the Treasury or the Internal Revenue Service, and if so, what would be its nature?
• Would implementation of the RFPTF Bill save the IRS money, given that it would no longer have to track down conscientious objectors who have not paid taxes, and, if so, what would be the estimated annual savings?
• What effect would the implementation of the RFPTF Bill have on the overall federal tax revenue?
• Does the RFPTF Bill in any way hinder Congress's authority to make appropriations or unconstitutionally delegate Congress's authority?
• What effect would implementation of the RFPTF Bill have on defense spending?

I urge you to join with Mr. Lewis in challenging the new Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. John Snow, to answer these questions promptly, and to please support the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund bill in the 108th Congress, H.R. 2037. We need your leadership to obtain legal redress for the religious and ethical freedom of Conscientious Objectors to military taxation as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention.