[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 87 (Friday, June 20, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H4089]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 REPUBLICAN TAX BILL NEEDS LOTS OF WORK

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, the House is expected to vote next week on 
a Republican tax bill that gives more than half of its benefits to the 
wealthiest 5 percent of Americans. Because the Republicans do not know 
how to defend themselves against charges that their bill short-changes 
working families, Republicans are firing back with the blatantly false 
charge that tax breaks for millions of working families would be 
welfare payments.
  I would tell my colleagues that the Republican bill denies the $500 
child tax credit to 20 million working families, because it does not 
let them count the credit against their payroll taxes. This is the 
Federal taxes that are deducted from the worker's paycheck.
  I do not understand why the Republicans are so desperate to keep 
these working families from getting tax breaks. I suspect it is because 
they are trying to funnel every dollar they can right back to their 
wealthy contributors.
  I would say, Mr. Speaker, we should welcome ourselves to the 
Republican Congress where tax breaks for struggling working families 
are welfare, but massive capital gains and estate tax breaks for the 
very rich are an important national policy.

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