[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 110 (Thursday, June 24, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H3088-H3089]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         CHECK YOUR ELIGIBILITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Moulton) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues who worked diligently 
to pass the advanced child tax credit, which will cut child poverty in 
half in just one year. We have a responsibility to make this money 
accessible to every child.
  While our elder daughter, Emmy, is accounted for, our pandemic baby,

[[Page H3089]]

Caroline, is not. In my district, the IRS estimates that more than 
6,000 children are unaccounted for.
  My team has worked tirelessly to get relief to our constituents. I 
encourage our constituents to visit the IRS website to check their 
eligibility. There is even a tool for nonfilers.
  The IRS is underfunded, and we need to fix that, but they have done a 
phenomenal job getting this set up.
  While our caseworkers are always happy to help, our constituents 
shouldn't leave money on the table. So, check your eligibility and find 
out what makes sense for your family.

                              {time}  1030


                  America Needs to Do the Right Thing

  Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, our Afghan allies and friends risked their 
lives, not just for their country, but for ours. They put their lives 
on the line, not just for Afghanistan, but for America. And they are 
not just Afghan heroes, but American heroes, too.
  They risked their lives because we made a solemn promise to them: We 
have your backs. Because we said that we have their backs, they now 
have a target on theirs.
  Today, the Biden administration has heard the call of veterans across 
America who have said: Save our allies. Do the right thing by the 
promise that we made.
  They have heeded our calls to pursue an evacuation because there 
simply is not enough time for special immigrant visas to be processed. 
It is 80 days until our withdrawal. The average time to process an SIV 
is 800 days.
  Today is, therefore, a bright chapter in the long story of the 
advocacy of veterans all over this country, Democrat and Republican, 
who have called on the administration to execute a plan for evacuation.
  But the story is far from over. We need to see a detailed operational 
plan, including a way to collect our allies from across this war-torn 
country, a way to ensure that their family members are saved as well, 
and a clear plan to get them COVID vaccines so they can travel safely 
to other countries, or to Guam, and not carry a risk of carrying the 
disease.
  We also need to see an operational commander named to lead this 
effort, and we need a guarantee that this evacuation mission will 
continue until it is complete.
  The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Milley, said 
yesterday that we have a moral obligation to fulfill this promise. I 
would add that that moral obligation is not just to our Afghan friends 
and allies. It is to every future young American on the ground in some 
conflict overseas who needs a friend, who needs an interpreter, who 
needs an ally and makes that promise once again: Come work with us. 
Come risk your life for us because we have your back.

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