[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 82 (Wednesday, May 12, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H2208]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PANDEMIC WORSENED ECONOMIC ISSUES

  (Mr. HIGGINS of New York asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS of New York. Madam Speaker, in March, the House passed 
and President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan. This bill 
expanded the child tax credit in an unprecedented way. Experts predict 
that this expansion will cut childhood poverty in this country by one 
half.
  Thanks to the efforts of the American Rescue Plan and the Biden 
administration's rollout of the vaccine, we are finally starting to see 
light at the end of the tunnel for this pandemic. But vaccines alone 
will not be enough to end the economic crisis caused by this virus.
  This pandemic exposed and worsened longstanding economic issues in 
our society, wages that are too low, childcare that is inaccessible, 
and a lack of paid leave to allow workers the ability to properly care 
for themselves and their families.
  Policies like the expanded child tax credit are essential to our 
economic recovery to help working parents, especially mothers, reenter 
the workforce knowing their children are safe and cared for.

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