Westmoreland and Kingston Take a Stand Against Misuse of the Tax Code

Statement

The Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) was put in place to provide a tax credit for lower income Americans with children. Unfortunately, because the law only requires an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) rather than a social security number, some illegal immigrants have used the ACTC to illegally obtain federal money. Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03) and Congressman Jack Kingston (GA-01) have been on top of this issue since it was first brought to their attention late last year and for that reason they introduced H.R. 3444, the child Tax Credit Integrity Preservation Act. This legislation would close the loophole being misused by many illegal immigrants to ensure that both the parent and the child must provide a valid social security number in order to be eligible for the Additional Child Tax Credit.

Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03): "There has been a lot of talk recently regarding the Additional Child Tax Credit. With the way the law is currently written, illegal immigrants can take advantage of a law meant to help lower income American citizens -- often even using the law to get federal money for children not even in the United States. That's why Congressman Kingston and I joined together to introduce H.R. 3444, the Child Tax Credit Integrity Preservation Act. Unfortunately, so many bills are introduced in Congress, that often important bills like this one are left on the sidelines. That's where you come in. I am encouraging everyone to contact08 your Member of Congress and ask them to join Jack and I in this fight to close the Additional Child Tax Credit loophole so that it is no longer used as a slush fund for illegal immigrants."

Congressman Jack Kingston (GA-01): "Our tax code is riddled with loopholes but this one takes the cake. While Washington borrows 40 cents of every dollar it spends and saddles our country with mountains of debt, it's sending billions in subsidies to illegal immigrants. That's something I just can't stomach. Lynn and I joined forces last November to shut down this loophole and shut off the spigot. I hope the increased public interest in this issue of late will help encourage more members of Congress to join us in the fight."

Senator David Vitter (R-LA) has introduced S. 577, a companion bill in the Senate. Full information on Congressman Westmoreland and Congressman Kingston's bill, including current cosponsors, summary of the bill, and the full text, can be found at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.uscongress/legislation.112hr3444.

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