Providing for Consideration of H.R. 4359, Child Credit Preservation and Expansion Act of 2004
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4359, CHILD CREDIT PRESERVATION AND EXPANSION ACT OF 2004 -- (House of Representatives - May 20, 2004)
Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 644 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 644
Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 4359) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the child tax credit. The bill shall be considered as read for amendment. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate on the bill equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means; (2) the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, if offered by Representative Rangel of New York or his designee, which shall be in order without intervention of any point of order, shall be considered as read, and shall be separately debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent; and (3) one motion to recommit with or without instructions.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce) is recognized for 1 hour.
Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to my colleague and friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 644 provides for 1 hour of debate in the House equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means.
It also provides for consideration of the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in the Committee on Rules report accompanying the resolution, if offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) or his designee, which shall be considered as read and shall be separately debatable for 1 hour equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent.
Finally, the resolution waives all points of order against the amendment printed in the report and provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions.
Mr. Speaker, in 2001, Congress passed the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act, which put $1 trillion back into the pockets of the American people and led to the strong economic recovery we are witnessing today. Without that package, the beating that our economy took as a result of September 11 would have been even more disastrous.
This relief plan expanded the child tax credit initially enacted as part of the Tax Relief Act of 1997, increasing it from $400 to $1,000 over 10 years. The jobs and growth package of 2003 accelerated the credit to $1,000 in 2003 and 2004.
Today's bill, sponsored by my friend, the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Porter), addresses the $1,000 tax credit, which is set to snap back to $700 in 2005 if we do not act today. In addition, the bill makes the child tax credit permanent and raises the eligibility limits on those who can claim the credit to include more middle-income parents.
Finally, the bill accelerates the refundability of the child tax credit this year to make it available to more of the Americans who need it, low-income families.
Mr. Speaker, tax relief stimulates economic growth. In 1997, unemployment was at 4.9 percent, and the Republican-led Congress passed the Balanced Budget Act. Unemployment fell to 4.5 percent in 1998, 4.2 percent in 1999, and a rock bottom 4 percent in the year 2000.
In 2001, we passed the Taxpayer Relief Act, putting nearly $1 trillion back into the hands of American families. And given the economic history I will continue with shortly, I am convinced that we would have seen unemployment rates fall even farther. But then September 11 hit, one of the most tragic days in American history. A horrendous loss of life through a murderous act of terrorism; an act that cost our economy trillions.
Unemployment jumped to 5.8 percent in 2002 as millions of Americans lost jobs connected to tourism, services, construction, and the list goes on and on and on. But we knew what to do. We knew how to respond. We knew that simply increasing spending would not lead to long-term viability and sustained recovery. Instead, we had to find a way to put money into the hands of consumers and businesses so they could make smart economic decisions that would begin to rebuild our economy.
So we enacted tax relief. We passed the Jobs and Growth Act to spur spending by American businesses. And after unemployment hit 6 percent in 2003, we saw the positive effects of these cumulative tax cuts begin to take effect. Beginning last November, unemployment steadily began to decrease. So we passed more tax cuts to speed up the process. And you know what happened?
Unemployment continued to fall, all the way to 5.6 percent.
Now, some people say that is not good enough. During the so-called tech boom, unemployment was as low as 4 percent. Well, you know what? I agree with them, we must do better. We should always strive to do better. One person unemployed is one too many. And today's bill will do exactly that. It will put $200 billion directly into the hands of American families, families who also happen to be consumers. And every dollar they spend, whether on a package of diapers, a tank of gas, or a car payment, they will be supporting America's jobs.
At the end of the day, that is what this debate is all about, American jobs. It is all about the cumulative effect of a Republican revolution that started in 1994 and led to strong and steady growth in spite of the horrors of September 11.
Beginning 3 weeks ago, we continued our commitment to strengthening the economy by preventing job-destroying tax hikes, passing permanent extensions of the new 10 percent tax bracket, wiping out the punitive marriage penalty, and relieving many families of the burdensome and unfair Alternative Minimum Tax.
Now we have before us the Child Tax Preservation and Expansion Act of 2004. Once again, this bill will make permanent the $1,000 child tax credit, preventing an unfair and unreasonable tax increase of $600 on 30 million taxpayers with 49 million children. After 2010, this bill will prevent a tax hike of $1,100 on 34 million taxpayers with 59 million children.
Finally, the bill helps our soldiers serving in combat by allowing nontaxable combat pay to be taken into account when calculating the refundable portion of the child tax credit. Currently, such pay is excluded from the calculation when calculating eligibility for the credit, thereby depriving thousands of our soldiers of a portion of the credit.
When we accelerated the child tax credit in 2003, 25 million families received checks totaling $14 billion. That is right, $14 billion was given back to consumers to pump into the economy. Imagine what a typical family can do with that kind of money, and $400 is what each typical family would get, a family with one child.
This bill is an opportunity for parents to spend money on their children, whether it is for a vacation, for an education, for diapers, for groceries, for a swingset. Whatever they want, they will have the money, and they can make the decisions. And it will also make our workforce more competitive because we will have that many more jobs.
Mr. Speaker, do we support tax relief for families, tax relief that will enable us to save for our children's education, finance a new house, pay for other activities that will continue to strengthen the economy? I do. I think the answer is a clear yes.
A "yes" vote on this rule and the underlying bill is a vote in favor of American families and a vote to spur more economic growth, so I urge a "yes" vote on this rule.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito), a champion of this cause.
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Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Ferguson).
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Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis).
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Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham).
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Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
When I vote "yes" today, I will be voting for America's hardworking families and their children. I will be voting to strengthen the economy and support American jobs, Mr. Speaker. I invite my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in voting "yes" today on both the rule and the underlying bill. I cannot think of a better vote to take than a vote for America's children and families, the economy and American jobs. It is the right thing to do.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.
The previous question was ordered.
The resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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