[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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