[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 171 (Wednesday, November 1, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S16461-S16462]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE $500-PER-CHILD TAX CREDIT

  Mr. GRAMS. I want to thank Senator Thomas, my good friend from 
Wyoming, for setting aside this time on the floor today for my freshmen 
colleagues and I to share our perspective on the Second American 
Revolution.
  There may be 11 freshmen new to the Senate this year, but we speak 
with a single voice when we talk about the mandate handed to us by the 
voters last November.
  Beginning last Wednesday morning and continuing for 20 hours, this 
Senate undertook a historic debate. For 20 hours, as we outlined the 
Balanced Budget Reconciliation Act, we had the opportunity to outline 
for the American people a new vision for this country.
  Our vision is about standing up for taxpayers and their families. It 
is about reining in the big government that has inserted itself more 
and more deeply into their lives over the last 40 years.
  Our vision--this new approach to governing--begins with balancing the 
budget, preserving Medicare, redefining welfare, and letting the people 
keep more of their own money, through our $245 billion package of tax 
relief.
  Forty years of backroom wheeling and dealing by my colleagues across 
the aisle have dealt the American people nothing but a string of losing 
hands.
  The big spenders may have had a long run, but they never played by 
the rules. Instead of using their own money, they demanded--over and 
over again--that the taxpayers be the ones to ante up.
  With this Congress, however, it is a whole different game.
  We are no longer going to let the Government gamble away the 
taxpayers' hard-earned dollars. In fact, we are going to keep those 
dollars out of the Government's hands in the first place.
  As you know, the centerpiece of our tax relief package is the $500-
per-child tax credit, and I am proud that my colleagues stood with me 
to ensure that this desperately needed provision remains at the heart 
of our reconciliation bill.
  The $500-per-child tax credit will return $23 billion nationwide 
every year to working-class families, and those families have been 
vocal in sharing their thoughts on what kind of difference the child 
tax credit would make in their lives.
  Since I began working on the $500-per-child tax credit 3 years ago, 
as a Member of the U.S. House, I have been receiving letters urging 
Congress to follow through on our promise of middle-class tax relief.
  The letters have come from Minnesotans and from concerned Americans 
across this country, as well.
  I hope they do not mind if I share parts of their letters with my 
colleagues.
  Just a few: From Alabama, where the $500-per-child tax credit would 
return $354 million annually, I received this note on the very same day 
we began debating the reconciliation legislation.
  The letter said:

       Please continue your work toward Medicare reform, a 
     balanced budget over 7 years, and tax cuts. The people of 
     this country are with you and waiting for this to happen.

  From California, where the $500-per-child tax credit would return 
$2.6 billion annually:

       Our families desperately need tax relief, and our 
     government needs to stop spending so wastefully.

  Another letter, signed a ``California Democrat,'' read in part:

       Thank you for your support of the family tax credit. As a 
     parent of three, I know parents need the help.

  From Florida, where the $500-per-child tax credit would return $973 
million annually:

       Thanks for your efforts this past year in supporting tax 
     relief for families!

  From Georgia, where the $500-per-child tax credit would return $570 
million annually:

       I am writing to thank you for proposing the budget plan 
     that would cut federal spending more than President 
     Clinton's, and for supporting tax relief for families. We can 
     use all the help we get!

  From Illinois, where the $500-per-child tax credit would return $1.1 
billion every year:

       We are a one-paycheck family struggling to keep our heads 
     above water. Two of our children are in a private school. The 
     burden of paying for the public and private systems is great 
     for us.
       Nonetheless, we must do what we know to be best for our 
     children. It is encouraging to know there are members of the 
     government who understand our struggle and are working on our 
     behalf.

  From Minnesota's neighbor to the south, Iowa, where the $500-per-
child tax credit would return $326 million annually:

       Thank you for supporting tax relief for families. Keep up 
     the great job!

  From Kentucky, where the $500-per-child tax credit would return $300 
million annually:

       We realize you are fighting a tough battle and we fully 
     support you on this issue. Keep fighting!

  From Michigan, home State of Senator Spencer Abraham, who has been 
one of the Senate's most vocal advocates on behalf of family tax 
relief, and where the $500-per-child tax credit would return $977 
million annually:

       I want to commend and thank you for remembering and 
     supporting the needs of families at tax time. Specifically, I 
     want to thank you for spending the past year arguing for the 
     $500 per-child tax credit.
       There aren't very many people in Washington who remember 
     the pro-family community in our country--and even fewer 
     people in Washington who will support the family.

  From Montana, where the $500-per-child tax credit would return $46 
million annually:

       We just wanted to take the time to say thank you for 
     supporting tax relief for families. We appreciate your stand 
     for us parents.

  From Nevada, where the $500-per-child tax credit would return $95 
million annually:

       Tax relief is really needed. We know--we have four 
     children, one income.

  From New Hampshire, where the $500-per-child tax credit would return 
$102 million annually:

       My reason for this letter is to thank each of you for 
     supporting tax relief for families and to ask you to continue 
     to do so until the tax relief becomes reality.

  From New York, where the $500-per-child tax credit would return $1.4 
billion annually:

       Thanks for your work to try to get President Clinton to 
     make good on his promise to give tax relief to families.

  From Oklahoma, where the $500-per-child tax credit would return $269 
million annually:

       As a concerned citizen, a voter, and a taxpayer, I want to 
     let you know there are a lot of us middle-income, family-
     heads-of-households who support you firmly.

  For the Presiding Officer in the chair, the Senator from 
Pennsylvania, where the $500-per-child tax credit would return $1 
billion annually:

       Please continue to keep the profamily community in mind. 
     The family network, its strength, is what keeps this Nation 
     strong.

  From South Carolina, where the $500-per-child tax credit would return 
$320 million annually:

       Thank you for supporting tax relief for families. Keep up 
     the good work!

  From Tennessee, where the $500-per-child tax credit would return $446 
million annually:

       Thank you for supporting tax relief for families. Also, 
     please continue to work for the deficit and keep it a point 
     of public awareness.

  From Texas, where the $500-per-child credit would return $1.6 billion 
annually:

       I am in favor of a tax cut for families.
       I believe that is one reason many people do not have more 
     children these days--the Government taxes us so much, and 
     tries to tell us how we should live and raise our children. I 
     have three children of my own.

  From Washington State, where the $500-per-child tax credit would 
return $537 million annually:

       Thank you for your work this term to get tax relief for 
     families. It is such a hard fight.

  From Wisconsin, Minnesota's neighbor to the east, where the $500-per-
child tax credit would return $505 million annually:

       Thanks for your efforts to give families tax cuts.

  And finally, Mr. President, the letters have poured in from my home 

[[Page S 16462]]

State of Minnesota, where the $500-per-child tax credit would return 
$477 million annually, completely eliminating the tax liability for 
nearly 46,000 Minnesotans: This letter came from Northfield, MN:

       I'm encouraging you to support passage of a $500 per-child 
     tax credit that goes to all tax-paying families with children 
     under 18. Let's start strengthening society by supporting the 
     backbone of the society--families!
  Then there is this letter from a family in Roseville, MN:

       A $500 Federal tax credit for each dependent is not a 
     Federal hand-out, but would allow parents to keep more of the 
     money that they make, and to use it to care for their own 
     children.
       A $500 Federal tax credit for each dependent would 
     unquestionably strengthen many families--especially middle-
     class and economically-disadvantaged families.

  And finally, a family in Minnetrista, MN, took the time to share 
these insights with me:

       As the mother of seven children with one income, I am 
     especially interested in the $500 per child tax credit. We 
     refuse to accept aid from Federal or State programs that we 
     qualify for.
       We believe this country was built with hard work and 
     sacrifice, not sympathy and handouts. We also believe that we 
     can spend this money more effectively than the Government, 
     who has only succeeded in creating a permanent, dependent 
     welfare class with our money over the last 40 years.
       Let's get back to basics.

  Getting back to basics is what our budget plan is all about, Mr. 
President. That is why we are balancing the budget, protecting Medicare 
for the next generation, fixing a broken welfare system.
  That is why we are cutting taxes, too. And if these letters are any 
indication, the American people are solidly behind our back-to-basics 
approach.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I thank my friend from Minnesota. Those of 
us on this side of the aisle are excited about the opportunities that 
are here. We are excited that we have worked for 8 or 9 months now 
toward this time, toward the time to have actually passed the kinds of 
changes that we bring with us from the election last year. These are 
the freshmen and sophomores. These are the Senators who are relatively 
new to this body and are really wound up about what we are able to do 
here and want to keep moving. So I am delighted they are here.
  I yield now 10 minutes to the Senator from Tennessee.

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