[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 146 (Wednesday, December 3, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H8289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         LONG-TERM TAX POLICIES

  (Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, over the Thanksgiving 
holiday, I was able to spend time not only with my extended family but 
with the families of my district. And it struck me--not for the first 
time--how disconnected much of the conversation in Washington is from 
the concerns of typical families.
  At the beginning of this week, we had an opportunity for a bipartisan 
agreement on making tax credits for working families permanent. But 
that has been derailed by cynical posturing.
  In 2012, the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit helped 
lift 10.1 million people out of poverty. These programs work for 
working families. But instead of voting on a broader bill today to help 
working families and businesses alike, we are kicking the can down the 
road once again. This is a process that benefits the status quo and 
holds the needs of working families hostage to another time when it is 
politically convenient--and it is no way to govern.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
continue working towards long-term tax policies that will help families 
who cannot afford to wait any longer for Congress to do right by them.

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