[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 88 (Monday, June 16, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1263-E1264]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RELATING TO CONSIDERATION OF SENATE AMENDMENTS TO H.R. 1308, TAX 
             RELIEF, SIMPLIFICATION, AND EQUITY ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 12, 2003

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule which 
would adopt a Motion to Go to Conference on H.R. 1308, The All-American 
Tax Relief Act of 2003. Here we go again. President Bush and the House 
Republican leadership are once again showing their contempt for working 
families that are struggling to make ends meet in our sluggish economy. 
This rule is a shameful effort to deny assistance to the 6.5 million 
families and their 12 million children who earn between $10,500 to 
$26,000 a year. Nearly 674,000 children and 378,000 families, or one in 
four children back in my home state of Illinois, would have qualified 
for this aid Nationwide, one million of these kids are the children of 
veterans or active members of the armed forces. Is this how the 
Republican leaderships and the Bush Administration wish to repay the 
brave men and women who have put their lives on the line to serve their 
country? We should defeat this rule and immediately adopt the Senate-
passed legislation which would provide immediate aid to these hard 
working families.
  Just a few weeks ago, President Bush and Republican leaders passed 
another job killing tax bill that provided even more tax cuts for 
millionaires. Behind closed doors, Vice President Cheney and Republican 
leaders in Congress deliberately left millions of children behind to 
pay for tax cuts for millionaires and tax dodging corporations. This 
was not an accident or an oversight. A House Ways and Means Committee 
spokesperson confessed, ``Adjustments had to be made.'' Of course, no 
adjustments had to be made to the nearly $604,000 tax break recieved by 
Vice President Cheney or the $332,000 given to Treasury Secretary John 
Snow. In fact, the total tax savings for President Bush, Vice President 
Cheney, and the Cabinet could be up to $3.2 million. The Bush 
Administration showed their true colors. This callous decision outraged 
the American public. People all around the country demanded fairness.
  The United States Senate was shamed into passing a Democratic 
proposal to provide those low-income families with their well-deserved 
child tax credit that was removed in a secret deal by Vice President 
Cheney. Instead of doing the right thing and passing the Senate bill, 
the House Republican leadership is trying to pass another budget 
busting $82 billion tax bill that will increase our growing national 
debt. When President Bush took office we had a $5.6 trillion ten-year 
surplus. We now have a $2 trillion deficit over the same period of 
time. According to CBO, the President's tax cut not the war on 
terrorism accounts for the growth in deficit.

  This bill is a gimmick. It is a delay tactic. The Republican 
leadership knows that this price tag is unacceptable to many in the 
Senate. No wonder the House Republican leadership is not even allowing 
members of the people's house an opportunity to offer any amendments 
today. If they allowed amendments we might pass child care tax credit 
for the 12 million children of the working class who have been 
sacrificed to make room for the Bush class. This begs the question, why 
do President Bush, Vice-President Cheney, and House Republicans have so 
much contempt for working families?
  The House Republican Leadership opposes the Senate bill because the 
lower income hard working families do not deserve a tax cut, they say, 
because they do not pay taxes. That is a lie and an insult to the 
millions who are teacher aids, home heath care workers, and child care 
providers. They pay sales tax, they pay excise taxes, they pay taxes on 
gasoline, and they pay a payroll tax, they pay taxes for which there is 
never a cut, never a special break. These are also the same families 
that struggle to pay their rent and provide for their children. We 
should help these families immediately.
  Put the interests of working families before the needs of the Bush 
class. Vote instead for hard working families. Defeat this rule.

[[Page E1264]]



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