[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 7, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. LINCOLN:
  S. 26. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reset the 
income threshold used to calculate the refundable portion of the child 
tax credit and to repeal the sunset for certain prior modifications 
made to the credit; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I come before the Senate to once again 
raise an issue that is near and dear to my heart--an issue that is of 
great importance to working families across this country. In 2001 and 
again in 2003, Senator Snowe and I worked together to ensure that low-
income working families with children receive the benefit of the Child 
Tax Credit. Last year, we were successful in improving the credit to 
ensure that more working families are able to receive its benefit for 
the tax year 2008, and I come here today to introduce legislation that 
will ensure this important provision continues to provide tax relief 
for our working families in the future.
  The change we made to the credit last year will ensure the Child Tax 
Credit is available for all working families. As some of my colleagues 
may be aware, to be eligible for the refundable child tax credit, 
working families must meet an income threshold. If they don't earn 
enough, then they don't qualify for the credit. The problem is that 
some of our working parents are working full-time and yet they still 
don't earn enough to receive a meaningful benefit from this provision 
because they just don't have a high enough income.
  It is wrong to provide the credit to some hardworking Americans, 
while leaving others behind. That is why we temporarily lowered the 
income threshold to $8,500 in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act 
last Fall. As a result, the single, working parent that is stocking 
shelves at your local grocery store for minimum wage will receive a 
meaningful credit this year.
  This improvement to the credit must be made permanent to ensure that 
our tax code works for all Americans, especially those working parents 
forced to get by on the minimum wage. Today, we are introducing the 
Working Family Child Assistance Act, legislation which makes the 
refundable Child Tax Credit permanent and sets the income threshold at 
a reasonable level so that all working parents, including those making 
the minimum wage, receive the benefit of the credit.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues and the Administration 
to ensure that those low-income, hard-working families that need this 
credit the most do receive its benefits.
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