The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) hits millions of families each year with a double burden: raising taxes and complicating the process (two separate taxes have to be calculated). Interestingly, the burden of the AMT tends to fall on the "blue" states. Now, as the AP's Mary Dalrymple reports, a bipartisan group of Senators has set to the task of repealing the excessive tax.

It was intended to catch wealthy tax dodgers, but instead has crept closer to the middle class over the years. So a bipartisan group of senators wants to eliminate the alternative minimum tax even though it would deprive the government of billions of dollars in revenue.

Four senators — two Republicans and two Democrats, including leaders of the Senate Finance Committee — planned to introduce a $611 billion bill this week that would repeal the tax. The committee scheduled a hearing Monday to examine the uncontrolled expansion of the tax.

"It's become mainstream," said the committee's chairman, Sen. Charles Grassley, who said he paid an extra $75 this year due to the alternative minimum tax.

"If we do nothing, the situation will get worse. It's a mess, and we need to clean it up for good," said Grassley, R-Iowa.

Joining Grassley in the repeal effort are Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Democratic Sens. Max Baucus of Montana and Ron Wyden of Oregon. Baucus is the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.

In principle, something must be done soon to fix the AMT. Clearly, the middle class should not be forced to bear the burden of this tax. There are complications, however.

Should Congress choose to repeal the AMT -- or even just fix it so it once again only hits the extremely wealthy -- America's already poor fiscal situation would only get worse. With Medicare close to bankruptcy and the Iraq War continuing to drain tens of billions from the treasury, I'm not certain that it's time to start decreasing revenue.

Congress -- primarily the Republicans, but also many Democrats -- seem to still reside in the land of the late 1990s where surpluses appeared ubiquitous and spendthrift ways were acceptable. Unfortunately, we are now in a period of horrendous deficits, so the billions in pork and tax cuts for the wealthy are actually hurting the country. Where's a deficit buster like Ross Perot when you need him>