[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 93 (Monday, June 23, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H5690]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            CHILD TAX CREDIT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it was exactly a month ago that the House 
passed a $350 billion tax cut, a tax cut that promised working 
families, those families who make between $10,500 and $26,600, it 
promised them a child tax credit, and these are our families who pay 
taxes, payroll taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, excise taxes.
  Something happened on the way to the bill signing by the President of 
the United States. The Republican majority stole that child tax credit 
from 6.5 million families, 12 million children. Why? To make room for a 
$93,000 tax cut for millionaires; 183,000 millionaires will get that 
amount in a tax cut. So I say happy anniversary.
  A week from today, 25 million families in this country will begin to 
receive their refunds in the mail, but not these six-and-a-half million 
families hardworking, tax paying families. These families are being 
held hostage, used as little more than a bargaining chip in the 
Republicans' never ending obsessive quest to cut taxes and cut them 
only for the wealthiest people.
  Among these families who will not be receiving this tax credit are 
200,000 military families, men and women who if we open the paper we 
can see are still fighting a war. We are losing almost every single day 
one GI. They are fighting this war in Iraq. They do not deserve to be 
held hostage by this majority, a majority that has made no bones about 
their complete and their utter indifference to these families' plight.
  The people who have been excluded, these are some of the hardest 
working people in the country, people who earn minimum wage. They often 
work two or three jobs just to get by to help their families, and when 
we think about it for a moment, every minimum wage earning mother in 
this country paid more taxes than the Enron Corporation did. Enron 
Corporation paid no taxes in the last 4 out of 5 years. Every one of 
these families have paid more in taxes than a multibillion dollar 
corporation.
  Make no mistake, this is an all out assault on millions of decent 
families in this country who work hard. They play by the rules, but 
this majority cannot put partisan politics aside and act simply and 
decisively to restore to these families the tax relief that they have 
rightfully earned, and it is an outrage but it also speaks volumes 
about their values and their priorities.
  It has now been a month since this majority stole this child tax 
credit from these families. This calendar that is here tonight is here 
to remind this majority of those six-and-a-half million families that 
they hold hostage every day because they refuse to simply do what is 
right.
  We will count down to July 1 when 25 million families are going to 
get the child tax credit, but these hardworking families are not. Every 
day this injustice is not corrected, every day they ignore the needs of 
honest, hardworking families in this country, is another day Democrats 
will be talking about this on the House floor. Every day the House 
takes up another bill that cuts taxes for the wealthiest people in this 
country is another day that we will be talking about this on the TV, on 
the radio and in the newspapers.

                              {time}  2030

  Every day will be another day that this will not go away, and it will 
not go away until this House has done something about it.
  So I want to let my Republican colleagues know in no uncertain terms 
that the clock is ticking. We do not need to see a 2-month anniversary 
of this injustice. The time to act is now. Twelve million children are 
waiting.

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