[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 11, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H11]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     FIGHTING FOR WORKING FAMILIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Illinois (Mrs. Bustos) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. BUSTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the beginning of my 
final year in Congress. Throughout my five terms, I have always made 
working families my number one priority.
  So, in my final year, what is at the top of my list to make sure that 
I am focusing on? Well, right now it is reinstating the child tax 
credit that just expired this month. Hardworking families who are just 
trying to get by have come to count on that support month to month 
since we passed that last year.
  Now, there are 71,000 families, just in the congressional district 
that I serve, who won't see that deposit into their bank account 
starting this month. So let's get to work.
  In Illinois, more than half of the children living in poverty don't 
have a seat in the pre-K classroom. So let's get to work.
  Parents across our Nation are spending a good chunk of their take-
home pay for the childcare that they need in order to be able to go to 
work, and it is our job to help make that more affordable. So let's get 
to work.
  I have got 1 year left in Congress and so much to accomplish, so I 
say to my own staff, I say to myself, I say to everybody in this body, 
let's get to work.

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