[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 120 (Thursday, September 4, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H7930-H7936]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 1308, TAX RELIEF, SIMPLIFICATION, 
                         AND EQUITY ACT OF 2003

  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion.
  The Clerk read as follows:
       Mr. Cooper moves that the managers on the part of the House 
     in the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses 
     on the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 1308 
     be instructed as follows:
       1. The House conferees shall be instructed to include in 
     the conference report the provision of the Senate amendment 
     (not included in the House amendment) that provides immediate 
     payments to taxpayers receiving an additional credit by 
     reason of the bill in the same manner as other taxpayers were 
     entitled to immediate payments under the Jobs and Growth Tax 
     Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003.
       2. The House conferees shall be instructed to include in 
     the conference report the provision of the Senate amendment 
     (not included in the House amendment) that provides families 
     of military personnel serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other 
     combat zones a child

[[Page H7931]]

     credit based on the earnings of the individuals serving in 
     the combat zone.
       3. The House conferees shall be instructed to include in 
     the conference report all of the other provisions of the 
     Senate amendment and shall not report back a conference 
     report that includes additional tax benefits not offset by 
     other provisions.
       4. To the maximum extent possible within the scope of 
     conference, the House conferees shall be instructed to 
     include in the conference report other tax benefits for 
     military personnel and the families of the astronauts who 
     died in the Columbia disaster.
       5. The House conferees shall, as soon as practicable after 
     the adoption of this motion, meet in open session with the 
     Senate conferees and the House conferees shall file a 
     conference report consistent with the preceding provisions of 
     this instruction, not later than the second legislative day 
     after adoption of this motion.

  Mr. COOPER (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that the motion be considered as read and printed in the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 7(b) of rule XXII, the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper) and the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. English) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper).
  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. 
Tonight we are about to have an hour of debate on whether, in fact, 
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are the compassionate 
conservatives that they claim to be. Is there any compassion in their 
bones?
  We are not debating whether the U.S. Senate is compassionate, because 
they have already voted by a bipartisan vote of 94 to 2 to do the right 
thing. We are not debating whether President Bush and the Republican 
White House is compassionate because they have already urged House 
Republicans to do the right thing and do it quickly. But it has been 93 
days that House Democrats have been waiting, that the President has 
been waiting, and that Senate Republicans have been waiting; and still 
there is no action from the other side of the aisle.
  What is the issue? The issue is the child tax credit. If you are 
going to be a compassionate conservative, if you are going to be 
compassionate at all, surely you will take care of the children in our 
society. Surely you will take care of the children whose parents are 
relatively poor, parents who earn between about 10 and $20,000 a year. 
That is the issue at stake. That is what the American people have been 
waiting for for 93 days. The other side could take action. In fact, we 
could probably pass it tomorrow if they would finally act. But the 
Republican leader has been quoted as saying, it ain't going to happen. 
Other Republican leaders have been saying things to indicate what has 
in fact happened, that the conference on this has not even bothered to 
meet. They have not even bothered to pretend that they care.
  So that is what is at stake in this debate, and that is why we are 
bringing it to the attention of the American people.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished minority whip.

                              {time}  2215

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his leadership on 
this important issue. I just came in a little bit late, but I heard his 
comments. Eighty-four days since the President of the United States, 
through his press secretary, said we ought to pass this legislation, 84 
days that we have been fiddling while, figuratively speaking, those who 
would be entitled to this child tax credit, 6\1/2\ million families, 12 
million children, have been burned while we fiddle around here in 
Washington. The majority is proud of the fact that it can move 
legislation when it wants to. They have demonstrated that ability. 
There is therefore no doubt, that the words of the President's press 
secretary 84 days ago saying that we ought to take care of these 
families, we ought to take care of these children, we ought to give 
this tax credit to those families who are the neediest families in 
America. This is not unique.
  The gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper) brought an amendment to the 
floor dealing with the earned income tax credit, some of the lowest 
wage earners in America. And guess what? We are going to get them. That 
is what happened in the ITC amendment. Now, here with the child tax 
credit in the dead of night, the conferees, indeed the chairman of the 
Committee on Ways and Means, to be more specific, removed this 
provision from the conference report included by the Senate, which, Mr. 
Speaker, then resulted in the President's press secretary saying the 
President wants us to pass this legislation just as soon as possible. 
That was 11 or 12 weeks ago.
  Mr. Speaker, it is unconscionable that we have not acted because in 
the interim we have talked about giving very large tax breaks to 
wealthy corporations and wealthy individuals.
  Mr. Speaker, I am hopeful that this instruction will pass, but much 
more importantly than that, I am hopeful, as the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Cooper) has indicated, that the conference will meet, 
the conference will act.
  I talked about 200,000 military families that are affected by this 
failure of the Republican majority to act. But let me say the military 
is being disadvantaged on many tax measures whether it deals with their 
$6,000 that they get for a death benefit, $3,000 of which is now 
taxable which we all want to exempt, 100 percent of us want to exempt 
that. It lies languishing, it lies languishing, I tell my friend from 
Pennsylvania, for failure of the Committee on Ways and Means and the 
Committee on Finance to act. Moving costs for our military personnel, 
our National Guard, our Reserves when we have asked them to move, when 
they have to sell their home, moving expenses, capital gains 
consequences, it languishes, I tell my friend from Pennsylvania, 
distinguished member of the Committee on Ways and Means. It languishes 
because the majority has failed to act. How sad it is that 12 million 
children did not get the assistance that others got just so recently.
  I thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper) for his leadership 
in this effort. I thank him for yielding me this time. And I am hopeful 
that the House and the majority will finally act to give the relief 
that the President of the United States was so adamantly urging us to 
pass 84 days ago.
  Mr. ENGLISH. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from the great State of Georgia (Ms. Majette) who has been 
a real leader on these issues, in fact, on all issues having to do with 
protecting our Nation's children.
  Ms. MAJETTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee for 
yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of the gentleman from 
Tennessee's (Mr. Cooper) motion to instruct conferees on the child tax 
credit. Quite frankly, I cannot believe this continues to be an issue. 
We need to just do the right thing.
  Back in May this House passed a tax cut bill, but those refunds were 
not for everyone. Americans who work for a living were denied refunds. 
The people who have the very least influence on this body did not get a 
tax cut. That is cold hearted. That is unfair, and that is just plain 
wrong. That bill gave no relief to those who need it the most right 
now, 6.5 million working families, families whose entire household 
income is between $10,000 and $26,000. Approximately 40,000 families in 
my district, Georgia's fourth district, did not get a refund check like 
millions of other Americans did. Some people received checks in July 
like Christmas in July, but there were 40,000 families in Georgia who 
got zapped by the Grinch factor. A couple of hundred bucks may not seem 
like a lot to some, but to a family living in poverty, it is much 
needed relief. That is money to buy winter coats for children. That is 
money to buy school supplies. That is money to pay for dentist bills.

  Just yesterday the census released new figures showing that the 
number of families and children living below the poverty line rose by 
1.3 million last year, 1.3 million more families than last year. In my 
home State of Georgia, those same poor families are preparing for the 
brunt of some harsh

[[Page H7932]]

budget cuts, some harsh State budget cuts and Federal proposals, cuts 
in Medicaid, cuts in child care services, cuts in education. And yet 
this House still refuses to include the people who are hurting the 
most. And let me tell the Members, these are hard-working folks, and 
they will be the ones who will bring our economy back. It is their 
sweat and their determination that fuels America's economic engine. It 
is their labor that makes our lives more comfortable and safer.
  I do not rise to speak out on every single issue. It is my nature, as 
a former judge, to listen and to gather information and to try to make 
wise decisions. But I have heard and listened to enough, and my faith 
and my convictions have pulled me to my feet tonight because this issue 
is far too important to far too many people to let me rest. So I urge 
my colleagues who talk about compassionate conservatism to walk the 
walk and put their money where their mouth is. I urge the conferees to 
do the right thing, to extend the child tax credit to America's working 
families and our poorest children, for they are the ones who are 
struggling and hurting and getting hit from every direction right now. 
We cannot afford to play politics at their expense because they 
literally cannot afford it. We need to show the Nation and the world 
that we take care of our own, and we need to treat them the way we 
would want to be treated, with malice toward none and with charity for 
all.
  So I support the Cooper motion to instruct the conferees on the child 
tax credit. I urge my colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Georgia for her 
remarks. I appreciate her contribution to this debate.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) for his remarks.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman as well for his 
leadership on this issue.
  This is a very tired issue for us. It has been 80 some days, and we 
have been talking for quite some time, and many of us who are new to 
this Chamber, as the previous speaker said, who have not been in 
politics all that long cannot figure out why we are just not doing the 
right thing. Because this is not a Democratic issue, and this is not a 
Republican issue. This is not a partisan issue. This is about helping 
12 million kids.
  And Labor Day, last Monday, I was fortunate enough to have the 
President of the United States in the State of Ohio. And as he took his 
motorcade through the gated communities of the suburbs of Richfield, 
Ohio and had the audacity to talk about compassion, the audacity to 
talk about working poor, the audacity to talk about helping kids, 
500,000 children in the State of Ohio will not be eligible for this tax 
credit because this body has refused to take it up.
  But I can guarantee that if this group of people, this 6\1/2\ million 
working families, 12 million children, if they had millions of dollars 
to donate to the Republican party, they would make it on the agenda 
like that. It is pay to play in Washington, D.C., and we have young 
children in this country, the wealthiest country in the world, who are 
not eligible for this, and the big excuse is they do not pay income 
tax. These families pay sales tax. These families pay property tax. And 
just because they are poor, we are not going to take care of them. And 
these are not poor people asking for a handout, as the gentleman from 
Tennessee makes that point very often. These are not people who are 
looking for a handout. These are people who go to work every day. And 
what happened to those values that if they work hard, they play by the 
rules, we are going to take care of them, we are going to make sure 
that this Government works on their behalf? Not under this 
administration. If they do not live in a gated community, if they do 
not make big money, if they do not donate to the Republican party, 
their agenda is not brought before this Congress.
  The Republicans control the House. The Republicans control the 
Senate. There is a Republican family that lives in a house right up the 
street, and if they wanted to take care of this issue, they could. It 
is a matter of priority. And we are going to sit here, and we are going 
to stand at this until the wee hours of the morning until this happens, 
and there will be an election that comes up, and there will be families 
who should be eligible for this tax credit, who are not, that will be 
going to the polls very soon.
  I think it is crazy when we live in a country where the IRS has a 
better chance at auditing someone who gets the earned income tax credit 
than they do for someone who makes $1 million a year. I think that 
illustrates where we are today in our governmental process. This system 
is broke. It is a money game. And if they do not have the money that 
they are dipping into the campaign coffers, their agenda is not brought 
before this body.
  I want to thank the gentleman again for yielding me this time. I also 
want to thank the gentleman from Texas for all his leadership on this 
issue. We are going to stand here, and we are going to keep talking 
until we are blue in the face because these people deserve it. And when 
our voices are not being heard, it is the voices of millions and 
millions of children who need our help.
  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio for his 
comments. The gentleman is the youngest Member of Congress, an honor I 
held about 20 years ago this day. We appreciate his eloquence on this 
important issue.
  Mr. ENGLISH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been painful for me to sit here and listen to 
some of the partisan rhetoric, which I think has trivialized a very 
serious issue. If this is about compassion, the House has already gone 
on record in a very compassionate way. The issue here, I would suggest 
to the gentleman from Tennessee, is really one of a more immediate 
nature, whether his party is going to continue to stand for maintaining 
a high level of taxation on working families. I am sad to say with this 
instruction to conferees, they are clearly going on record in favor of 
more taxes.
  Mr. Speaker, accordingly, I rise in opposition to the motion to 
instruct the conferees. First, I want to set the record straight and 
commend the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means and the 
Republican leadership for already taking swift and meaningful action on 
the expansion of the child tax credit in June.
  My freshman colleague from Ohio may have overlooked the fact that we 
have already voted on this issue. Contrary to what the minority has 
been arguing here tonight, the House took clear action on this issue 
and moved specific legislation forward in order to maximize the number 
of families that benefit from the jobs and growth plan.

                              {time}  2230

  The motion to instruct before us actually takes several steps back 
from the policy that we already adopted in June. It reduces the tax 
benefits and it reduces the number of working families that would 
benefit accordingly.
  The motion, for example, calls for the child credit to drop, to be 
reduced from $1,000 to $700 after the 2004 election. Now, I have to 
think that is a coincidence. But under their motion, millions of low- 
and middle-income families will receive a smaller child tax credit 
right after the elections.
  The House-passed bill ensures that the child credit remains at the 
$1,000 level throughout the decade. That is not only compassionate, it 
is good tax policy. This is a necessary and, in my view, reasonable 
element of the House-passed bill because it locks in the Federal 
commitment to this policy for future years.
  If we truly support compassionately helping families with the costs 
of raising their children, then let us extend this policy beyond next 
year.
  When debating the jobs and growth plan, I listened with interest to 
my colleagues on the other side howl that the child tax credit was set 
to expire in 2004. I was pleased to hear that they expressed such 
strong support for long-term tax relief. Now I am sorry to see the 
truth becomes clear. They are singing a very different tune.
  Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, the motion to instruct does not eliminate 
the marriage penalty and the child credit until 2010. Even then it only 
does so for 1 year. Now you see the tax relief, now you do not.
  Under the motion, millions of children will be denied the child 
credit

[[Page H7933]]

simply because their parents are married. The House-passed bill 
benefits middle-income families by eliminating the child credit 
immediately. That is compassion, Mr. Speaker.
  I want to make one more thing very clear because this has been raised 
previously. The House-passed bill does not deny the child credit to 
military families. That is a matter clearly in the record. Military 
families, including those who are deployed abroad today, are already 
receiving a refundable child credit and will continue to receive a 
refundable child credit under the House-passed bill.
  The motion to instruct would only increase the refundable child 
credit for some military families by allowing them to take into account 
tax-free income when they compute their refundable credit. The House-
passed bill provides more tax relief to military families because it 
includes $806 million of military tax benefits. And that, in my view, 
is something we need to remain committed to in the House of 
Representatives.
  These provisions have passed the House on numerous occasions and are 
awaiting action in the Senate. I believe our tax system imposes too 
high a burden, not only on our military families, but also working 
families in places like Erie, Pennsylvania. This imposes a real and 
substantial social cost. And at a time when we are in an economic 
slowdown, I think it clearly applies a very substantial economic cost.
  The House-passed All American Tax Relief Act, which the other side 
has conveniently forgotten about, proposes a direct solution to the 
needs of families struggling with the burden of dependence by offering 
a comprehensive expansion of the child tax credit.
  The motion to instruct wrecks the House-passed bill. It guts it and 
it should be defeated convincingly to show that we are still on record 
in support of relief for working families.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I would hope that the listeners could see through the rather emphatic 
rhetoric of my good friend from Pennsylvania, because may I remind him 
that the conference committee has not even bothered to meet on this 
issue. The Senate is controlled by Republicans, the House is controlled 
by Republicans, and they have not found time in the last 93 days to 
meet on this issue.
  Let me read the quote from the White House Press Secretary: ``The 
President wants to sign the Senate legislation,'' not the House 
legislation, the Senate legislation, ``and hopes that Congress will get 
it to him quickly.'' This was on June 9 of this year. ``The President 
believes that what the Senate has done is the right thing to do, a good 
thing to do, and he wants to sign it.''
  So cut through all the rhetoric, cut through all the b.s. I have not 
seen a Committee on Ways and Means majority member carrying this much 
heavy water since they tried to defend the police action taken by a 
member of that committee a month or so ago, only to have the chairman 
of the committee come to this floor to apologize for his action.
  Do the right thing. Do what the White House has asked you to do. Do 
what the Senate has passed 94 to 2.
  Are Republicans compassionate? Can they govern this country? Can they 
be decent to our own children? That is the issue we are debating 
tonight.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bell), a genuine leader on this issue.
  Mr. BELL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for yielding 
and for his leadership on this issue and again bringing the child tax 
credit before the American people.
  I listened to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania talk 
about how it pains him to listen to the debate. I certainly understand 
that, because oftentimes the truth does hurt. As I stand here it 
becomes so apparent, and all I can think about is that old saying that 
the more things change, the more things stay the same.
  As many will recall, we were here night after night leading up to the 
recess period asking for a motion to instruct on the child tax credit. 
Some people may have forgotten during the recess period. Certainly our 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle would like for the American 
people to forget.
  But we are not going to forget. We are not going to forget about 
those we represent. We are not going to forget about those who are in 
the greatest need of a tax credit.
  All the Republicans would have to do, if they are sincere, is join 
with the other body and pass the bill that was passed out of the other 
body calling for an $11 billion child tax credit.
  But I would like to take people back to June, because that is how you 
really can identify the insincerity of the arguments on the other side, 
when we had the debate regarding the child tax credit and we really saw 
the hollowness of ``compassionate conservatism'' on display, on open 
display, as they talked about wanting so greatly a child tax credit, 
but knowing that the bill that they were putting forward calling for an 
$80 billion child tax credit would have absolutely no chance, no 
chance, of being agreed to by the other body. They knew precisely what 
they were doing.
  Mr. ENGLISH. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BELL. No, the gentleman has his own time, and I am not going to 
yield.
  That is precisely what has taken place. And now 93 days have gone by, 
just as we predicted they would, and the conference committee has not 
met a single time to try to work out a child tax credit, despite, 
despite the contentions made by the other side of the aisle that they 
so greatly wanted this child tax credit.
  But, see, some of the real feelings from the other side of the aisle 
began to slip out after that day back in June, and the majority leader 
let forth his true feelings when he said, ``It ain't going to happen,'' 
and he made it clear that he believes the working poor in this country 
do not deserve a tax credit because they do not pay income tax.
  Well, they do pay sales tax, and they wake up every day and they go 
to work and they have needs, sometimes greater needs, than those long-
suffering millionaires who the Republicans seem to always be able to 
find tax relief for, and we need to do something to take care of these 
families, and that is what this child tax credit is all about.
  At no time was that more clear than during this district work period 
when I had a chance to go back home and sponsor a back-to-school fair 
for one of the low-income neighborhoods in my district. The greatest 
excitement that came during the course of that evening was when a local 
merchant had offered to give away backpacks, a backpack, something that 
has become a basic school supply for almost every school child in 
America. But the excitement was because many of these kids had not been 
able to afford them.
  All I can think is how much that $400 child tax credit would have 
meant to those families when they were preparing to send their kids 
back to school, how much it would have meant to them.
  That is why it is important, and that is why we challenge the other 
side of the aisle, that is why we challenge the Republicans in this 
body night after night to stand behind your words that you stated back 
in June, stand behind what you claimed was a sincere, compassionate 
need to help working families in this country.
  Go to the conference committee, agree with the other body, and let us 
bring forth a child tax credit that will put money in the hands of 
those who need it most in this country. Let us pass this motion to 
instruct and let us pass a child tax credit.
  Mr. ENGLISH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to engage the last speaker. Since he 
refused to yield for a question, perhaps if he could briefly answer a 
question on my time. I would yield myself such time as necessary, if he 
will answer that question.
  The gentleman made in his statement the claim that he knew that the 
House bill, or we should have known that the House bill, which was far 
more generous than the instruction provides for as a policy, that 
provides far more tax relief to working families, that provides much 
more well-rounded tax policy than is contained in their motion to 
instruct or in the Senate version, he said that we were in some way 
culpable because in passing this bill already and acting on this issue 
already, we should know that the Senate is not going to act 
accordingly.

[[Page H7934]]

  May I ask the gentleman, how does he know that as a freshman?
  Mr. BELL. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ENGLISH. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. BELL. Mr. Speaker, this has absolutely nothing to do with being a 
freshman. Things become rather apparent around here quite quickly, and 
when the other body has engaged in a lengthy debate and has offered a 
child tax credit which has been paid for and has identified funding for 
that, it will not go above that mark, and has made it very clear they 
will not go above that mark, certainly if you come back and pass a 
child tax credit that calls for some $69 billion and does not identify 
any funding for that bill, you know that the other body, common sense 
would tell you that the other body is not going to agree to it.
  We stated that at the time, and what has played out is exactly what 
we said would play out. The conference committee has not met.
  Mr. ENGLISH. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, the gentleman is really 
not being responsive.
  May I say, I believe the House has adopted the correct policy. What 
this motion would do is gut that policy and remove some of the tax 
relief that I believe is essential for working families, particularly 
those who are the object supposedly of compassion on the other side.
  Mr. Speaker, I think the important thing to understand here is that 
the House has already acted. We have already laid out and I have laid 
out in my remarks exactly what the House position is. The gentlemen are 
advocating a policy that would roll back that tax policy, and all of 
the remarks so far have not been responsive to my arguments.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), who has been not 
only a leader on this issue, but on so many issues in this House of 
Representatives. Where the gentleman gets his energy, I do not know, 
but I am proud of him.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those comments. I 
appreciate it.
  But I have to respond to the Republican gentleman from Pennsylvania, 
because as much as I respect him, and I do, he is clearly trying to 
rewrite history in terms of what happened here with this issue.
  The bottom line is, and I think he has forgotten, the Republicans 
passed this huge tax cut that essentially ballooned the deficit. We are 
up to like a $500 or $600 billion deficit right now. And, lo and 
behold, all the checks were going to go out. The President got up and 
said we are going to send the checks out to all these people, a lot of 
them wealthy, some middle class. But all of a sudden everybody realized 
that the working poor, those families that were making between $10,500 
and $26,000 a year, that their children, their 12 million children, 
were not getting the increased child tax credit.
  So, what happens? The President is embarrassed. The Senate is 
embarrassed. The other body immediately says, ``Well, let's do 
something real fast. We will give these kids and their families the 
extra child credit, but we do not want to balloon the deficit because 
we know the deficit is way out of control because of the Republican tax 
cut policies. So we will just lengthen a customs excise tax to pay for 
it,'' I think it was.

                              {time}  2245

  They said, Look, we will do this but we will not increase the deficit 
and we are certainly not going to go for even more taxes to make the 
deficit even worse. Well, they passed it.
  Now, we figure, okay, the House will take it up and pass it too 
because the President of the United States said, This is a good thing. 
I agree with what the Senate did. It will not cause more problems for 
the deficit. It will just help these poor families. But what does the 
House do? The House passes this other big bill that will balloon the 
deficit even more, give more money primarily to wealthy people, and now 
my colleague from Pennsylvania says, well, the House bill is better.
  The bottom line is the House bill is never going to pass. We know 
that. Why will it not pass? Because it will increase the deficit. The 
Senate rightly will not pass the House bill because they know it is not 
just addressing the problem at hand which is the real problem that 
needs to be addressed to these poor children and these poor families, 
these working families, but rather just give more tax credits, more tax 
cuts to other people who do not need it and balloon the deficit even 
more.
  Mr. Speaker, I like the gentleman. I respect my Republican colleague 
from Pennsylvania, but he knows darn well this House bill is going 
nowhere. That is why there is no conference. I do not know if they have 
appointed the conferees, but the conferees never met. Why? Because the 
House Republican leadership has no intention of passing this bill. If 
they had any intention of passing it, they would have had the 
conference.
  I respect the gentleman a great deal, and I know he really believes 
that this House bill is the right way to go, and I respect him for 
that. But the gentleman knows it is never going to pass. The gentleman 
knows it will never go to conference. The gentleman knows it will never 
go to the President's desk. The President has said he wants to send a 
bill because he knows it is the only bill that will pass. So do not kid 
around here.
  I understand the gentleman really earnestly believes in it, but 
procedurally it will not happen. If it was going to happen, then the 
majority leader, the Speaker, would say, let us have a conference and 
let us try to work out the differences, try to persuade the Senate to 
pass something if they want. But they are not doing that. They are just 
ignoring it.
  What we are saying as Democrats is we are not going to let you ignore 
it. A promise was made by the President. A promise was made by the 
Republican leadership that they will address this issue, and they are 
not doing it. And it is irresponsible because these poor families need 
the money. If they got the money, they would go out immediately and 
spend it on basic necessities: food, clothing, whatever. It would be an 
economic stimulus. But that is not even the issue. It is an issue of 
equity.
  Why in the world should those poor families who are paying taxes, 
whether it is payroll, sales, property tax or whatever, why should they 
not get the money? They were getting the original tax credit. Why 
should they not get the increase like everybody else? Why should they 
not get the check in the mail? I got the check in the mail. I think it 
was $1,200 because I have three kids.
  Now, I do not really need it. I would rather see that it was going to 
poor families, to working families that have low income. It is just not 
right. It shows dramatically that the Republicans do not care. They are 
not compassionate conservatives. They may be conservatives, but they 
are not compassionate at all.
  I respect the gentleman a great deal, my colleague from Pennsylvania, 
but do not kid us and say this House bill is going anywhere. It is 
going nowhere. That is why we are not having the conference. The 
leadership is not taking it up. They told us it was dead, but we are 
not going to let them get away with it.
  Mr. ENGLISH. Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Carter). The gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. English) has 21 minutes remaining. The gentleman from Tennessee 
(Mr. Cooper) has 4 minutes remaining.
  Mr. ENGLISH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Smith), one of my most distinguished colleagues.
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding me time.
  I will do a Special Order tonight on Social Security, that we need to 
deal with Social Security. And maybe it should be made clear to 
everybody what the motion to instruct does is in effect saying that 
those individuals that do not pay income tax should still have the 
child tax credit. I wonder if there might not be another solution.
  In my Social Security bill that I am introducing next week, I say for 
those private investment accounts that are safe investments, and we 
will not get into the debate on whether that is advisable or not, but 
what I do is for

[[Page H7935]]

those individuals making less than $34,000, I add money to their 
personal retirement fund that they own to help give them a chance to 
accrue increased benefits that is going to give them maybe even a 
better income and retirement than they had in their working years.
  So maybe instead of suggesting we should have a child tax credit 
relief for those individuals that do not pay any income tax, maybe we 
should be talking about some relief for those low-income individuals 
paying into Social Security. Because after all, 75 percent of Americans 
working now pay more in the Social Security tax, the FICA tax, the 
withholding tax than they do in the income tax. So I think rather than 
confusing the issue saying let us give an additional, you might call 
it, some people would dislike having it called a welfare payment, but 
if it is for individuals as an income tax rebate for individuals that 
do not pay any income tax, then it could be conceived that way. So I 
wonder if maybe it is not a more fair and reasonable debate for those 
75 percent of Americans who pay more in the FICA tax than they do in 
the income tax to talk about reducing their FICA tax and still giving 
them some kind of credit for retirement.
  So I oppose the motion to recommit because I think it confuses the 
issue.
  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Davis), an eloquent speaker, a colleague 
and friend of mine who, in fact, represents the congressional district 
I used to represent.
  Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, child tax credit. What is it? It 
is not a refund because you paid income tax. That is a misnomer we are 
talking about.
  This bill passed in the House and was excluded, there were certain 
numbers of people excluded as a result of tax cuts that were passed. 
And this body, Members of this Chamber, the majority side decided that 
we ought to cut folks out who make between 12 and $25,000 a year. We 
are not talking about something new. This has already passed for 
everyone else except for those who earn between 12 and $25,000 a year. 
You excluded those individuals. You said if you have children and you 
are working, it does not matter.
  I walked this past Monday in a Labor Day parade; and as I was walking 
down in Whitwell, Tennessee, the gentleman knows what I am talking 
about, as I walked down that Labor Day parade route, probably 5 or 
6,000 people on the sides of the road, somebody came out and hollered 
at me, Tell the President, and I will not repeat what she said, what he 
can do with his tax cut.
  I think we can redeem ourselves. Mr. President, what I am calling on 
you tonight to do is just what you did to the Senate. I talked to the 
Republican-controlled Senate and said pass a child tax credit that 
includes those folks who earn between 12 and $25,000 a year. They did. 
He said we have left them out when we passed the income tax proposal. 
He called the House. I am sure he called the majority leader or maybe 
the Speaker and said, Pass the bill because those folks deserve it. He 
said he was a compassionate conservative. I believe him.
  Let us redeem ourselves to this lady who is saying, you left me out. 
I work every day. I am a single mom and you left me out, Mr. President. 
Do not do that to us, Mr. President. We are not talking about whether 
they pay income tax or not. We are not talking about giving a tax 
refund because they paid in. We are talking about stimulating the 
economy and giving someone $400 per child who works every day and pays 
the gasoline tax when they drive to that factory where they work or the 
shopping center where they work selling hamburgers.
  So do not tell me they have not earned this. They have. And it is a 
shame that this House has not done what the President asked them to do. 
Mr. President, let us redeem ourselves with those folks who work every 
day harder than any of us and earn between $12,000 and $25,000 a year. 
It is time that America stood up for what is right, Republicans and 
Democrats. I am tired of it.
  Mr. ENGLISH. Mr. Speaker, I have one speaker remaining, and I believe 
the gentleman has the right to close.
  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, I have one speaker remaining in addition to 
myself. How much time remains on my side?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper) 
has 1\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very 
much for yielding me time.
  There is only one point that I want to make and to suggest that what 
we are doing here, our inertia and inaction is a crime. It is a crime 
on families that clearly deserve the equity of a child tax credit just 
like any other working family.
  I leave this floor with this thought I hope will be lasting, and I 
thank the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper). Our 
military hospitals across the Nation and around the world are teeming 
with the wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan, teeming. And because of 
that, they leave or they have families back home who today cannot 
receive a tax credit because this body will not act. The question for 
the Republicans is whether or not they will pay the appropriate tribute 
to their sacrifice and pass the earned income tax credit now, the one 
passed by the Senate, now.
  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, I have the right to close, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. ENGLISH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as I have listened to the debate I am afraid that the 
speakers on the other side from over and over again overlooked some 
basic points.
  First, they talk as if the House had not acted, but the House in 
timely fashion has acted and has passed a bill to extend the child tax 
credit to these families. Second of all, we have done what the 
President asked for and more. And we are now in a position to move 
forward I think and make a compelling argument to the Senate at a time 
when the economy is slow that they should be considering, in fact, more 
relief. And what is more, one of things that I pointed out in my 
remarks and none of the speakers chose to address on the other side, 
was the fact that after all, this motion to recommit would effectively 
cut back on the tax benefits that the House has already chosen to 
extend. And to put that into context and allow people to judge the 
relative compassion, to use the other side's rhetoric, let me just 
suggest the following examples:
  Under our bill we would extend the $1,000 child credit immediately 
and for good. But under their proposal in the year 2005, that $1,000 
child tax credit would drop down to $700. That is a tax increase on 
working families after the election. And that is a fact that the other 
side has not chosen to engage on. That is a very significant tax 
increase for working families. When you consider that in Erie, 
Pennsylvania, a cop with three dependents would see his taxes go up or 
her taxes go up $900 dollars in the year 2005 under their proposal 
relative to ours. Two young teachers with two very young dependent 
children would see their taxes go up $600 in the year 2005.
  I know people in these circumstances. I know people in my 
neighborhood who have had to face this tax burden and are facing 
exactly those circumstances trying to raise their kids with limited 
resources. What this motion to recommit does is force a tax increase on 
them after the 2004 election. I think that is bad social policy and it 
is bad economic policy. And I am immensely proud that this House has 
already gone on record in favor of addressing this issue, has done so 
eloquently. And I hope tomorrow when we have an opportunity to vote 
finally on this recommittal motion that the House will clearly go on 
record opposing this motion to recommit.
  I thank the gentleman for his eloquence tonight. It has been a great 
debate.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  2300

  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remainder of my time.
  As I began the debate, are House Republicans compassionate? 
Unwittingly they have proven for the 93rd day they are not, because 
they will not even agree with their President or with the Republican 
majority in the Senate to

[[Page H7936]]

govern, to do the right thing for our Nation's children.
  I would urge this House to vote yes on the motion to instruct. It is 
a vote on compassion. It is a vote on whether we care, and this is the 
chance to prove it.
  For the second time tonight, the Republican majority in the House has 
proved they do not have any compassion. First we debated the earned 
income tax credit, now this one. Vote yes on this motion to instruct.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Carter). The gentleman's time has 
expired.
  Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to 
instruct.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to instruct 
offered by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper).
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the noes appeared to have it.
  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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