[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13809]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            CHILD TAX CREDIT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bishop of Utah). Under a previous order 
of the House, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, our working families need a break. They 
need a break more than anyone in this country, especially since they 
bear the brunt of this weak economy. But, for some reason, the Bush 
administration continues to cast them aside in favor of the privileged 
few.
  Working men and women are the backbone of this Nation. They are the 
ones who struggle day in and day out to provide the bare necessities 
for stable, happy homes. They know how hard it is to balance work and 
family, and they need our support.
  The Bush administration, however, and the Republican leadership, in 
their faux ``compassionate conservatism,'' continue to slap working 
families in the face. They said that the recent tax cut bill would 
provide relief for all Americans. But here is the truth: increases to 
the child tax credits were given to the families who need it the least, 
while low-income families were left with nothing. Worse hit were 
working families earning between $10,500 and $26,600 a year. Working 
families in this tax bracket were completely ignored. The Republican 
leadership denied them their fair share.
  Mr. Speaker, I want Members to hear about a mother from my district, 
the Sixth District of California north of San Francisco across the 
Golden Gate Bridge. Cori and her family were cast aside by the 
Republicans.
  Let me tell the Members about Cori. Cori came to a local Head Start 
program at a low point in her life. She was a single parent without a 
support system and with very little money and very little self-esteem. 
She had just completed a recovery program and was seeking to put her 
life back together. It was the first time in years that she felt 
needed, comfortable, and good about herself and her life.
  Cori went on to volunteer for Head Start. She then completed an AA 
degree in early childhood development because she wanted to give back 
to the program that got her on her feet. Now Cori has been a Head Start 
employee for the past 3 years, with the goal of getting a Bachelor of 
Arts degree.
  Mr. Speaker, why should Cori be denied the child tax credit, while 
those making more than $1 million a year received overall tax cuts 
totalling $93,500 each? What definition of compassionate are we using 
here?
  This attack on our working families must end. But sadly, the attack 
on working families does not stop with denying the child tax credit to 
Cori. Sometime soon we will debate a Republican bill to deny workers 
the benefits of overtime pay, the heart of the very Fair Labor 
Standards Act.
  If the poorly named ``Family Time Flexibility Act'' passes, the 
Republican leadership will take a step to undermine protection of the 
40-hour work week, so employers can avoid paying their workers like 
Cori overtime. This is not only poor economics for struggling families 
who count on overtime, it is just plain bad public policy.
  It is time that we restore the balance for families so they can earn 
a living and meet family demands at the same time. We must pass H.R. 
2286, which will expand the child tax credit and marriage penalty 
relief for lower-income families like Cori and her two children. 
Passing the legislation can be the first step in reversing the wrong 
done to these hard workers.
  In the coming year, I plan to introduce legislation called the 
Balancing Act, which will improve the lives of working families and 
their children. That would mean providing paid family leave after the 
birth of a child, increasing the funding for child care, granting 
school breakfasts for all students, and helping with the care of aging 
parents. I urge my colleagues to join me in that effort.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time to restore compassion for our Nation's 
working families, rather than our Nation's millionaires. Our families 
need to know that we have not forgotten them.

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