[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 10, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H544]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     A $500 PER CHILD TAX CREDIT, NOT SOME BOONDOGGLE FOR THE RICH

  (Mr. KINGSTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, so often we hear about tax cuts for the 
rich, and here is an example of one of the taxes that the opponents 
said was for the rich, and this is a $400 this year, $500 next year per 
child tax credit for families that make under $110,000 a year. Seventy-
eight percent of the families who will benefit from this tax credit 
have a household income of less than $75,000 a year.
  Take the case of Mr. and Mrs. William Franklin of Brooklyn, Georgia. 
They just had a new son named Sean. They have to go out and buy a car 
seat, which the kid will immediately throw up on. They have to go out 
and buy shoes, which he will immediately lose one of. They have to go 
out and buy a walker, which he will try to roll down the steps so they 
will have to put a block in front of that little accordion door. They 
have to buy a Johnny Jump-Up to develop his legs. They have to go out 
and buy a blender to smash peas with, or they can pay for the more 
expensive; just get Gerber to do it for them.
  You have to do all of this if you have a child because raising 
children is very, very expensive. I know. I have four kids. They are 
wonderful, but it is proper for the government to give a $500 per child 
tax credit. It was passed by the Republicans last year. It is not some 
boondoggle for the rich, as the Democrats would have us believe.

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