[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 17 (Thursday, February 4, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S475-S476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        EARNED-INCOME TAX CREDIT

  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, a week or so ago we marked Earned-
Income Tax Credit Awareness Day, a day to highlight a vital tool for 
Americans working their way out of poverty. These are challenging 
economic times. The costs of food, housing, transportation and, basic 
necessities increase while wages stagnate. We know for the last 10 
years, even before this recession, even in times of relative prosperity 
where profits were up and there was growth in the economy, most 
people's wages were flat even though costs went up. Tuition especially, 
energy costs, health care costs have meant difficult times for a 
decade; obviously more acutely difficult now. That is one of the 
reasons the earned-income tax credit, one of the most important tax 
cuts for our Nation, is so important.
  The EITC is designed to fill that gap that so many working families 
suffer from. It provides millions of Americans, including hundreds of 
thousands of Ohioans, from Bellaire to Van Wert, from Ashtabula to 
Middletown--provides hundreds of thousands of Ohioans earning low to 
moderate wages, a potentially lifesaving tax credit. If you work and 
you play by the rules but you earn low wages, the earned-income tax 
credit can provide for your children, help you build economic security, 
help you extend your reach for the American dream.
  According to a recent study, the earned-income tax credit has lifted 
more children above the poverty line than any government program. The 
earned-income tax credit, again, is available for people who have jobs 
and get a tax credit as a result of that job. In 2005, more than 22 
million U.S. households applied for the earned-income tax credit. They 
received on average $1,800 a household. An estimated 2.6 million 
children were lifted above the poverty line because of the earned-
income tax credit.
  This is no handout. This is earned. It is the earned-income tax 
credit because people in lower wage jobs are working hard and playing 
by the rules and doing the right thing. The American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act has increased the earned-income tax credit refund, 
expanding it to help thousands more Ohioans. Approximately 875,000 Ohio 
families qualify for the earned-income tax credit, but as much as 20 
percent do not take advantage of it. They do not know about it or they 
do not know how to apply for it. That is 175,000 working families from 
Chillicothe to Dayton, from Maumee to Bryan; 175,000 working families 
in my State have earned the earned-income tax credit but they are not 
receiving it.
  There are millions of dollars on the table, if you will, millions of 
dollars in tax credits for Ohio's working families. These are the 
criteria: If you earned less than $48,000 last year, depending on the 
size of your family, you could be eligible to receive an earned-income 
tax credit of up to about $5,000. Even if your income is lower than the 
threshold for filing taxes, file them anyway to obtain the earned-
income tax credit.

[[Page S476]]

That is all you have to do. You earned it, you absolutely earned it, 
just ask for it.
  I encourage people who are not sure to call my office or call the 
offices of your Senators or your Congress men and women around the 
country.
  The Presiding Officer from Illinois has been very active in this, and 
his office is available also to make sure in his State that these 
families who work hard, play by the rules--maybe they are making 
$20,000 $30,000, $40,000 a year; they are struggling--can get several 
thousand dollars tax credit, money in their pocket as they work to 
pursue the American dream.
  We have seen what the earned-income tax credit can do for working 
families. In Hamilton County, southwest Ohio, the Cincinnati area, a 
woman and her three children became homeless after she lost her job. 
But because of her work, the wages she earned, she qualified for the 
earned-income tax credit. Every dime of her $2,000 earned-income tax 
credit went back into her pocket to help her overcome the daunting 
economic challenges she faced--$2,000 which went, for somebody at that 
income level, so very far.
  An elderly couple was grateful they qualified for the earned-income 
tax credit. They used the $3,700 to cover a tragic occurrence, a 
grandchild's funeral expenses, expenses otherwise beyond their reach.
  There are hundreds of thousands of stories like this across Ohio and 
across our Nation. I encourage Ohioans in Ashtabula and Bellaire and 
Zainsville and Springfield and Xenia who may by eligible for the 
earned-income tax credit to visit the IRS tax site at www.irs.gov or 
call 1-800-906-9887 and find a local Volunteer Income Tax Assistance 
Center. Remember, if you think you might be eligible for the earned-
income tax credit, it is a tax credit that, if you are working and you 
are working hard and playing by the rules and you are not making a lot 
of money--not just minimum wage, but if you are not making more than 
$30,000 or $40,000 a year, even up to $48,000 year--you should call 
that number or visit the Web site, irs.gov. The Volunteer Income Tax 
Assistance Center, or VITA, is a vital and free resource for working 
families where accountants and tax experts volunteer their time to help 
you file your taxes so you can receive the EITC.
  In Lorain, OH, in my home county, where President Obama visited just 
10 days ago, in a program which we began when I was a Member of 
Congress, a couple visited a free tax preparation center after trying 
to do their taxes on their own. They found help; they qualified for the 
EITC. They received a refund of $5,000, which helped replace the roof 
of their house which required replacement.
  To receive EITC, all you have to do is file your taxes. That is it. 
You earned it, just ask for it. Spread the word, Mr. President, and all 
of my colleagues and anyone listening--spread the word about the 
earned-income tax credit. It is a bridge out of poverty that serves 
millions of families across Ohio and across the Nation. Remember, you 
earned it.

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