[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 21, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H9784-H9787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MOTION TO INSTRUCT CONFEREES ON H.R. 1308, TAX RELIEF, SIMPLIFICATON,
AND EQUITY ACT OF 2003
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion.
The Clerk read as follows:
Ms. Woolsey 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 preceding provisions of
this instruction, not later than the second legislative day
after adoption of this motion.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XXII, the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) and the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Shaw) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey).
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of the motion to instruct conferees on the child
tax credit bill. It is time that this Congress proves to working
families that we care about them and that we care about their children.
We can do that by providing immediate payment to those families left
out of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act.
Mr. Speaker, you may wonder who exactly was left out of that bill.
How about military families with personnel serving in Iraq, Afghanistan
and other combat zones. What about more than half the children of
janitors and maids, cooks and other kitchen workers; farmers and farm
workers; child care workers; nurses and secretaries; sales workers;
bus, truck and cab drivers. These are the very workers that need our
support.
Now, let us look at those who this bill benefitted the most. The
millionaires, the tax cut legislation enacted in May created an average
child tax credit increase of $615 this year for those who are lucky
enough to meet the income requirements. However, tax filers with
incomes of more than $1 million will receive an average tax cut of
$93,500 this year. That is $93,500 as compared to $615, or as compared
to 12 million children who have been left behind because the Republican
leadership failed to include them in the child tax credit, and they
have yet to receive the $615 benefit.
Mr. Speaker, the families I am talking about are those with dedicated
workers that have put in full-time hours at minimum pay, pay taxes and
earn less than $26,000 a year.
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It is unfortunate that Republicans believe these forgotten children
and their families do not contribute enough to deserve a break. Actions
like these leave me no doubt that the priorities are dead wrong on the
other side of the aisle. We must correct this injustice.
While the House passed a child tax credit bill, we missed the chance
to pass a clean bill that would immediately grant our Nation's
hardworking families with an increased child tax credit. The Republican
initiative was a squandered opportunity to invest in our children and
their families.
This supposed party of compassionate conservatism has exploited the
child tax credit issue to pass even more tax cuts for their wealthy
friends. Instead of bringing up the other body's child tax credit bill,
which would cost $3.5 billion with offsets to fully pay for it, they
passed a bill that costs $80 billion with no offsets, at a time when
America's Federal deficit will exceed $400 billion.
The other body has handed us a bill that would have increased tax
credits for 6.5 million tax-paying families months ago, and I support
their effort. That is why I have introduced this motion instructing the
conferees to adopt the other body's language, to put money in the
pockets of the working families that need it the most. Even the
President has come out in strong support of this clean legislation.
Our priority should be putting money in the hands of working
Americans. That is the way to create jobs and build a strong economy.
If we do not help our children now, how can we expect to strengthen our
Nation in the future?
Mr. Speaker, the House's Republican leadership failed our children
and working families. I am disappointed that the leadership is refusing
to address the real issue here. It is time to restore true compassion
for our Nation's working families. Working families need to know that
we have not forgotten them.
I urge my colleagues, support this motion so we can pass the child
tax credit to those who need it most.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, it is sort of an interesting omission of the history of
this bill and how we got where we got. The gentlewoman from California
is absolutely correct. This was a part of an $80 billion bill, but part
of the $80 billion was made up of the tax break that we gave the low-
income people that, in effect, took them off of the tax rolls. So
[[Page H9785]]
when they say that people lost their tax credit, they lost their tax
credit because they were no longer paying taxes. It is just that
simple.
So the question before this House is, Should the House take money
from people who pay taxes and give it to people who do not pay taxes
and do it under the Tax Code? If we are going to put this in the form
of handouts, then it should go to the Committee on Appropriations, and
this is where it ought to be; but when we put it in the form of tax
credits, we are simply taking money from people who pay taxes and
giving it to people who do not pay taxes. But let me go through this
motion to instruct point by point because there are some points here
that we should cover, particularly as it affects the men and women in
the military.
The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) in her motion to
instruct has said that the conference report should provide the
refundable credit to families in the form of immediate payments in the
same manner it was provided to taxpayers who qualified under the
original bill. Our response is, this provision is no longer valid. The
child tax credit payments approved in the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief
Reconciliation Act of 2003 have already been mailed out to the families
who qualified. Moreover, the House bill does not deny immediate
payment. It lets the IRS decide the most efficient way to deliver the
payments.
The second point provides that the conference should require that
combat pay be included in the definition of earned income for purposes
of calculating the refundable child credit for military families. The
response is, ironically, that the Senate version of the 2001 tax bill
specifically excludes combat pay from the calculation of the child
credit, unlike what is being asked for by the other side. The Senate is
now seeking to reverse its own provision.
The decision to exclude combat pay from the definition of earned
income was based on President Clinton's 2001 budget proposal and the
Joint Committee on Taxation's simplification study. The motion to
instruct contradicts President Clinton's proposal, the JTC
simplification recommendation, and the Senate's own action.
Nonetheless, a proposal is being considered in the context of the
conference; but, again, this is not in the Senate bill.
Number three, the conference report should include tax benefits not
found in the Senate bill unless the tax benefits are offset. Our
response is that the instruction would effectively cut the child credit
from $1,000 to $700 in 2005 as provided in the Senate bill. Why would
we want to do that? Why would the other side want to do that? In
addition, this instruction would prevent us from eliminating the
marriage penalty and the child credit. If the instruction were adopted,
millions of children would be denied the child credit simply because
their parents were married.
The fourth point says that the conference report should include tax
relief for military personnel and astronauts who died in the Columbia
shuttle disaster. The underlying House bill already provides this tax
relief; the Senate bill does not. So this has gone over.
The fifth point that is in is simply a rehash of the other four
points.
So I cannot see why anyone on either side of the aisle would want to
support this motion to instruct. I urge a ``no'' vote.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, one of my Republican colleagues favored arguments
against extending the child tax credit to the families left out is that
these families do not pay taxes and they should not receive a credit.
They argue that Congress should not grant tax relief to families who
are unemployed or who do not pay Federal income taxes. However, the
truth is that all of these excluded hardworking families do pay taxes.
They pay payroll taxes, State and local sales taxes, property taxes,
excise taxes; and we must ensure that they receive their fair share.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms.
Jackson-Lee).
(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise
and extend her remarks.)
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from
California, one, for her leadership as the chairwoman of the Democratic
Caucus Task Force on Children and her willingness to take this very
important step to instruct the conferees. I thank her very much.
Mr. Speaker, we just have an enormous disagreement, plain and simple;
and I am glad that I am standing on this side of the disagreement. One
side, our good friends on the other side of the aisle really believe
that the only ones who should get tax cuts are the 1 percent richest
Americans. They are getting almost 80 percent to 90 percent of the tax
cut. So, frankly, they have a one-sided view of the world.
On this side of the aisle, we truly believe, and the Senate agreed
with us with a 94 to 2 vote, 94 for a child tax credit that includes
those individuals who are willing to have their lives taxed. I believe
that is the ultimate tax that has been paid, that is, the men and women
on the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq. Who is paying a tax like
that? So are we suggesting that military families who are making
between $10,000 and $26,000 a year are not worthy of a very small,
minute child tax credit? What an outrage.
I believe there are two bodies. The Constitution set up the House and
the Senate; but I do not believe that one has the one-upsmanship for
doing good work, and if the Senate, or other body, excuse me, because I
am going to be admonished about mentioning the other body, believes
that is a viable approach, 94 to 2, how silly it is for us to continue
to have this ongoing debate with the same dried-up story, they do not
pay taxes. They pay payroll taxes. They pay sales taxes, and I have not
looked at every one of their filings or every one of their personal
conditions. There may be a myriad of other taxes that they might pay,
car tax, property tax. So they do pay taxes.
But the tax credit is on children, the ability to be able to have a
credit back to people on the number of children that they have to
support, and in doing that, many of our families have used that for the
necessities of life. Maybe they have used it for school books. Maybe
they have made a rental payment on it. Maybe they have used it to buy
extra food.
I do not know how many of my colleagues realize that military
personnel are sometimes on what we call WIC and welfare because the
moneys they have as their military allotment or salary is not enough
for them to be able to support their families, and so it is
unbelievable that we would not want to provide the partnership to the
already-passed Senate provision that says that they will get a child
tax credit in the backdrop of the increasing number of poverty. For the
first time in a decade, poverty is up and the median household income
is down for 2 consecutive years.
New census data recently released shows that the U.S. poverty rate
grew from 11.7 percent to 12.1 percent. Who would not think that would
happen in this administration? Jobs have been lost. We have lost over 3
million jobs. We just debated and passed an unwieldy $87 billion
supplemental that no one can get their hands around, and our troops are
not getting their paychecks. They do not know when they are going to
come home. There is no exit strategy, and we are building schools
galore in Iraq.
And I believe in a charitable foreign policy. I just believe we
should do it collaborating with others; but we are going to be building
schools, hiring police, building roads and bridges, and giving them
$2.1 billion on behalf of the restructure of their oil, but yet we can
stand here on the floor of the House and have someone get up and
suggest that it is not right, not necessary to provide our young men
and women in the military families with a simple child tax credit.
It is unbelievable that we would stand here and argue against the
value of providing our children, our Nation's children, with the idea
of a child tax credit.
The other thing that I would want to say is it is interesting how we
do not want to provide this child tax credit when we ask the
administration to put a moratorium on this multibillion dollar tax cut
to the richest Americans and then in addition to this tax credit that
goes nowhere but to the richest Americans does not create any jobs. In
[[Page H9786]]
fact, some of them have rejected it and said we do not need it. Warren
Buffett happens to be one of them.
We are still willing to saddle America's children with an enormous
debt because in the spring of 2001 we had a $5.3 trillion projected
surplus. Today, we have $500 billion in a deficit and growing.
So this is a simple request to this House, and I ask my colleagues to
vote enthusiastically to render a child tax credit that will be
implemented in this process so we can address the needs of our children
in America.
Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, in that this is the 16th time we have been
through this exercise, at this time I have no requests for speakers,
and I reserve the balance of my time. I do recognize that the
gentlewoman from California does have the right to close. So if she
would appropriately advise me when she wants to close, I would be glad
to do so.
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre), a co-chair of the Children and Families
Task Force.
(Mr. McINTYRE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. McINTYRE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the 184,000
families in North Carolina who are unfairly excluded from the child tax
credit package. These hardworking families struggle daily to afford
food, clothing, school supplies, even sports uniforms for their
children. During these tough economic times, it is unfortunate that the
families and children who need assistance the most are being left
behind.
I urge my colleagues to come together out of compassion and
cooperation and commitment for extending relief to the 6.5 million low-
income families that are struggling to support their children.
First, we must demonstrate compassion for those who are less
fortunate. During tough economic times, we have a lot of families
working hard to provide for their children; and we should leave no
stone unturned in doing everything we can to help them.
Second, we must also demonstrate a sense of cooperation to ensure
that all working families benefit under the child tax credit. Last May,
we voted to accelerate the child tax credit and send many families a
check for $400. Now is the time for this body to reach yet another
agreement and not deny the same $400 check to our low-income families.
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Where I come from, $400 goes a long way to help families with school
supplies, clothes, rent and other very personal family needs.
Finally, we must uphold our commitment to restructuring economic
growth for the entire population, including many of our military
families. Last year alone, 1.7 million individuals fell into poverty.
We must not delay in helping them any longer. We must show that we do
have the compassion, the cooperation and the commitment that this body
can work together and help these families.
For 4 months now, we have debated the child tax credit. Today is the
time for compassion, cooperation and commitment to passing the child
tax credit and helping our families, our children, and our future.
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I would like to reiterate again the families who did not receive
child tax credit relief when checks were mailed out this summer:
More than three-quarters, 801,000, of the children of sales workers;
more than half, 903,000, of the children of janitors and maids; more
than half, 526,000, of the children of cooks and other kitchen workers;
more than half, 290,000, of the children of farmers and farm workers;
two out of five children, 376,000, of child care workers and their
aides; one in four, 711,000, children of nurses and their aides; one in
four, 483,000, children of secretaries and related office workers; one
in five, 264,000, children of truck, bus and cab drivers; more than
260,000 of active duty armed forces personnel.
Mr. Speaker, how can we forget so many families who are the backbone
of our Nation's safety, transportation, health, food supply and other
children's care?
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would just like to make a few points that I think are
very important. The gentleman from North Carolina gave a very
impassioned speech, but what he did leave out is that to go ahead and
get this bill conferenced and stick to the House language, most of the
people he talked about will be off of the tax rolls, in fact, all of
them will be off of the tax rolls if this happens. And that is a good
thing, because we have in our bill that we passed, the $80 billion
bill, we took millions and millions of Americans off of the tax rolls.
And they are low-income people where we need to do this.
Also, the gentlewoman's motion to instruct would cut the tax credit
from $1,000 to $700. Why do we want to do that? Why does the other side
want to do that? I really do not understand the logic in doing this.
But, in any event, we have been through this many, many times. We are
going over worn-out roads, and at this point I would, again, urge a
``no'' vote on the motion to instruct.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume,
and in closing, I wish to repeat that the working families we are
talking about pay taxes. They pay their employment taxes, their payroll
taxes, they pay local sales taxes, they pay property taxes and
franchise taxes, sometimes. They are taxpayers. They earn a living, and
they are the backbone of this Nation.
Mr. Speaker, according to the Citizens for Tax Justice, the child tax
bill passed on June 12, 2003, by the House Republicans, would give
almost two and a half times more to families with children under 17
that have incomes above $104,000 than it would give to families making
less than $28,000 a year.
This is just bad policy, and this motion to instruct will correct
that bad policy. And I ask that my colleagues vote ``yes'' on this
motion to instruct.
Mr. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my outrage regarding the
Republican leadership's unjust treatment of the child tax credit.
Week after week, month after month, Republican leaders scheme and
delay, unable or unwilling to find an ounce of compassion for families
making under $26,625 dollars a year.
In my district, one out of every 4 families will get no child tax
credit or compassion from the Republican leadership.
Military families who live in my district, and whose children serve
proudly in our military, will get no child tax credit.
Yet somehow, Republicans found $90 billion to give to 200,000
millionaire families, while 1.6 million working class Latino families
got nothing.
And yet again, Republicans found $20 billion for reconstruction in
Iraq, while working class families got nothing for reconstruction here
at home.
As our deficit grows, $400 billion for Fiscal Year 03 and $500
billion for Fiscal Year 04, these working families will get something .
. . a higher debt burden they can pass onto their children, loss of
essential health services, infrastructure funds, environmental
protections and social security.
These families deserve more than that, they deserve a child tax
credit.
I implore my colleagues of good conscience and compassion across the
aisle to join me in supporting the Motion to Instruct Conferees and
give our working families, our military families and all American
children a Child Tax Credit!
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it is hard to believe that we have been
discussing this matter for 5 months now. 5 months ago, the extension of
the child tax credit was stolen from six-and-a-half million families,
12 million children--a million of whom are in military and veterans
families. 5 months have passed since we first discussed how every one
of these low-wage-earning families pay more in taxes than Enron, a
multibillion-dollar company that paid no taxes in the last 4 or 5
years.
It is simply unconscionable. The other body passed a bill months ago.
The president's spokesperson said then that the House should take it
up, and the president would sign it. Why then is the Republican
leadership so reluctant to lift a finger to help people who work--
people who pay taxes, people who have children? Republicans pass tax
cut after tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, and then they cut out
the families of 12 million children.
As much as the other side of the aisle would like to say that they do
not pay taxes, they do pay taxes--they pay property taxes, they pay
sales taxes, they pay payroll taxes, and they work and live paycheck to
paycheck.
[[Page H9787]]
Unlike so many of the millionaires who received a $93,000 tax cut in
the $350 billion tax bill, these families who earn between $10,500 and
$26,000 per year and know what it is to work and pay taxes. We should
walk in their shoes.
And let me remind the majority who this injustice has affected
disproportionately. Two-thirds of the parents who will not be receiving
this tax cut are women. 4 million single mothers, a million married
couples with stay-at-home moms. Fifty-five percent of all married-
couple families. Two hundred thousand military families. All have been
left out by this Republican majority. On average, these families would
have received $276 in this year alone had the tax credit been extended
to them.
Maybe that does not sound like a lot of money to some, particularly
those millionaires who are going to get their $93,000, but it can be a
difference between a child going to school with or without school
supplies, it helps the families of the 9 million children in this
country without health insurance pay for the health care services that
they need.
Assisting these families, these 12 million children, is a moral
issue. It is a matter of values. Mr. Speaker, we must call on the
president to use his moral authority, do something about those six-and-
a-half million working families. They have earned that child tax credit
like we will never know. We should pass this motion to instruct.
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Culberson). The question is on the
motion to instruct offered by the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Woolsey).
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the noes appeared to have it.
Ms. WOOLSEY. 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
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will
be postponed.
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