[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 17, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H8359-H8361]
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. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged motion.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mr. Ryan of Ohio 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 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 preceeding provisions 
     of this instruction, not later than the second legislative 
     day after adoption of this motion.

  Mr. RYAN of Ohio (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 Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XXII, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) and a member of the opposing party each 
will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan).
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Today I am offering a motion to instruct conferees on the child tax 
credit. I thank all Members of Congress, especially the gentlewoman 
from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), for initially offering her leadership 
on this motion.
  Mr. Speaker, the tax bill that was passed by Congress neglected 12 
million children in America's low-income working families by cutting 
them out of the child tax credit plan.
  My motion to instruct does a few things. It instructs the conferees 
to agree to the Senate language that provides for tax credit checks to 
be mailed immediately to low-income families. It also provides that the 
tax credit be extended to personnel in combat zones in Iraq, 
Afghanistan and elsewhere; and the conferees could easily accomplish 
these changes and bring up a final bill within 2 days which is what the 
motion calls for.
  In Ohio, the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight 
states that over 25,000 working families were cut out of this 
provision. These are families who work hard. They do pay taxes. Unlike 
what many Members have said during the debate in the last few months, 
these individuals may not pay income tax, but they pay property tax, 
sales tax, they pay user fees, they pay tolls to get on the roads; and 
so they do contribute to the economy. They do pay taxes.
  I was having an interesting conversation with a Republican friend who 
was listening to this debate happen because this is not the first time 
we have had this debate in the Chamber, and he said they do not pay 
taxes. I said they do pay taxes. They pay sales tax and property tax. 
He said give them a rebate on their property tax. My question to him is 
what is the difference?
  Mr. Speaker, these people need help, and we have not done enough for 
them in this Chamber. We have an opportunity with this bill to make and 
have real impact on low-income families.
  One last example that this bill, this motion, would help those 
military families that we talk so much about. One example that we have, 
an E-5 or E-6 sergeant, 6 years of service, two children, making 
$29,000 a year. If he does not serve in combat, both of his children 
qualify for the credit. They get the thousand-dollar credit. If he is 
in combat for 6 months, his or her credit drops to $450. I do not think 
there is a

[[Page H8360]]

person in this Chamber who would say we are doing enough to help our 
military personnel in combat.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as was indicated earlier in the debate, or the colloquy, 
between the majority leader and the minority whip, this House on June 
12 passed a tax relief measure which provided for the extension of the 
child tax credit. Let us look at the current law and see what we would 
be extending if that particular measure were to pass the other body and 
go on to the President for his signature.
  Who is getting that child tax credit under current law: any family 
that pays income tax as long as their income does not exceed certain 
levels, and even families who do not pay income taxes receive the child 
tax credit so long as they earn at least $10,500. These families 
receive a check from the government equal to 10 percent of their income 
over $10,500.
  Military families serving overseas also get the child tax credit 
subject to the same rules. So-called wealthy families do not get the 
child tax credit. The child credit is reduced and eventually eliminated 
for single parents with incomes over $75,000 and for married couples 
with incomes over $110,000.
  Mr. Speaker, this House has acted, and on June 12 of this year passed 
a bill which calls for the extension of the child tax credit through 
2010. It does other things as well. Along with passing the extension of 
the child tax credit, we eliminated the marriage penalty in the child 
credit, celebrated the increase in the refundable child credit, 
provided tax relief and enhanced tax fairness for members of the Armed 
Forces. We suspended in that same piece of legislation the tax exempt 
status of designated terrorist organizations, and provided tax relief 
for astronauts who die on space missions.
  Mr. Speaker, I would say to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) that 
the call for action belongs and should be focused and aimed to the 
other side of this building. They are in the chairman's seat of the 
child tax credit conference, and it is they who should act.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Strickland).
  Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, I know of no issue that most clearly 
shows the differences between the Republican and the Democratic parties 
than does this issue.
  President Bush came to Ohio on Labor Day. He stood and he talked 
about the child tax credit. It was reported in the paper that he said 
folks here in Ohio can use this $400 per child tax credit to buy 
clothing for their children, to buy school supplies. What the President 
did not say to the citizens of Ohio is that the Republican Party is 
excluding 500,000 children in Ohio, children from low-income families, 
children from families who are most in need of help, and yet they 
apparently do not count. We are told that they should not get this 
benefit because their parents do not pay income taxes.

                              {time}  1600

  Well, they pay payroll taxes. They pay property taxes. They pay all 
sorts of other kinds of taxes. Why is it that my Republican colleague 
focus only on the income tax? Do they not know that a dollar being 
given for the payroll tax is just as difficult for that poor family to 
pay as a dollar on an income tax?
  Mr. Speaker, 500,000 children in the State of Ohio. Now, people need 
to be very clear. These are children whose moms and dads work. 
Sometimes they may work two or more jobs. They just simply do not make 
enough to have to pay income tax. Think about that. If you are a 
resident of Ohio and you make $60,000 a year and have two children, you 
get $800, $400 per child. But if you are a family that lives next door 
to the $60,000 family and you only make $25,000 and you have got two 
children, they get nothing. They get zero under this plan. It does not 
make sense. I think it is cruel hearted. I think it is hard hearted to 
react to the children in this manner.
  Mr. Speaker, I call upon the President to exert his influence so that 
the next time he comes back to Ohio he can say he cared about all of 
Ohio's children, even the poor kids.
  I think this is a matter of values. And for those of us in this 
Chamber who support family values, I would like to quote from the New 
Testament. Jesus said, ``As often as you have done it unto the least of 
these, you have done it unto me.''
  What we are talking about here today are the poorest kids. We are 
talking about the poorest kids, the kids whose moms and dads work but 
who struggle. We are talking about the kids who need clothing for 
school, who need school supplies, who need all kinds of other 
essentials that their moms and dads may not be able to provide to them 
unless we do the right thing in this Chamber and provide this rebate, 
this tax credit for all the children.
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I have a couple points that I would like to make in 
addition to thanking the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland) for his 
comments and his leadership on this particular bill.
  The child tax credit of which we are talking about adding on to, the 
additional funding that it would take only accounts for 1 percent of 
the final bill that we passed, 1 percent out of a $350 billion bill. 
This would have been $3.5 billion. And when you take a step back and 
you look at the overall picture, you will see that this type of 
investment of only 1 percent of the entire bill would have much more 
value to the economy, would put more back per person that would receive 
the money than the money that we were giving in the same amount, 
actually much, much more, to the top 1 or 2 percent.
  These people are actually going to go out and spend the money. They 
are going to go out to the store, as Mr. Strickland stated, and they 
are going to spend it because they do not have a lot. But if you give 
$93,000 back to someone who makes a million dollars, they are not going 
to buy anything new that they do not already have.
  So I think it is important when we talk about this also to talk about 
the portion that is an economic stimulus part of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time and the right to close.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Linder). The gentleman has that right.
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I think this is the nineteenth time that we have 
been through this discussion on a non-binding motion to instruct 
conferees. And at this time, again, I would reiterate the need to focus 
the urging of action towards the other side of this Capitol that chair 
the conference committee on the child tax credit.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I would like to say we will be asking for your help and your support 
to encourage the leaders in the United States Senate to also help us 
with this particular provision. I think it is a good piece of 
legislation. I think there are thousands and thousands and thousands of 
young kids throughout the United States of America today, Mr. Speaker, 
who this would benefit.
  It would be a direct impact into our economy. We still need a boost. 
There are still not jobs being created. It is still a jobless recovery. 
And this is an opportunity for all the campaign speeches about being 
compassionate. I cannot think of a better opportunity for the President 
of the United States to use his power, for the leaders in this Congress 
to use their power, for the leaders in the other body to use their 
power to make sure that this motion passes and that we inject some more 
money back into the economy and start giving it to people who will go 
out and spend it.
  I believe there is a real slant in the policies that are coming out 
of not only this Chamber, but the other Chamber, and also coming out of 
the administration.
  One example that I would like to use, not necessarily affecting this 
particular piece of legislation, but one similar, the earned income tax 
credit. One, the audits of working poor in 2001

[[Page H8361]]

from the IRS increased by 48.6 percent. Those applying for the earned 
income tax credit had a 1 in 47 chance of getting audited. Those making 
more than $100,000 a year had a 1 in 208 chance of getting audited. I 
think this is indicative and illustrates the point that the policies we 
are getting out of this Chamber and out of this Congress and from the 
President are clearly slanted towards the top 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 percent and 
against those people who are working poor or living in poverty.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Linder). 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 Ohio (Mr. Ryan).
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. 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 and the 
order of the House of earlier today, further proceedings on this motion 
will be postponed.

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