EFFORT TO OVERRIDE MARRIAGE-PENALTY VETO WOULD SPOTLIGHT REAL ISSUES

On President Clinton's desk this summer have been not one, but two tax cut bills passed by the Republican congressional majority. One measure -- the bill enacting relief in the income-tax marriage penalty -- has already met with a presidential veto. (The other is a bill phasing out the death tax over a 10-year period.)

President Clinton's veto message relied on standard Democratic demagoguery about its being little more than a gift to the wealthy. Vice President Al Gore agreed, saying he would sign the bill, but only if it targeted benefits to working families.

Republican nominee Texas Gov. George W. Bush criticized the veto, saying he would have signed the bill. A campaigning Bush asked: "What kind of tax code is it that penalizes marriage?"

The legislation passed both houses by less than the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, but House leaders said an attempt to do just that will be a high priority when Congress returns after Labor Day. This will be a useful exercise, even if Congress lacks the votes.

The American people need to see who is serious about cutting their taxes, and who it is who wants to find every reason not to do so. Each month brings new reports of vast federal tax surpluses, stretching a decade into the future. It is past time for Washington to begin returning most of that money to the people who earned it. Let's have a fall campaign fought out on the issue of who is serious about cutting taxes, and who is determined to keep the cash and spend it.