Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act of 2005

TAX RELIEF EXTENSION RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2005 -- (Senate - February 13, 2006)

BRAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. LINCOLN. I thank my colleague from Montana, Senator Baucus, who, as always, does a tremendous job in helping the entire Senate stay focused on what is important, helping us to reflect on where our values lie as Americans, and certainly for us as leaders of this great Nation.

I come to the Senate today to once again discuss an issue that is near and dear to my heart, an issue that is of great importance to all working families across this country. As we look now at what working families are going through--astronomically high fuel prices, what it is costing them to heat their homes; the cost of health care; the cost of educating their children and saving for higher education, which is going to increase again this year and years to come; trying to be competitive in their jobs and the global economy--in looking at these issues, I and many other Senators have recognized how tough it is for working families across this country.

In 2001, and again in 2003, Senator Snowe of Maine and I worked together, with the help of our chairman on the Committee on Finance, Senator Grassley, and our ranking member, Senator Baucus, to ensure that low-income working families with children receive the benefit of the child tax credit. It is so important to remind ourselves: we know how near and dear our children are to us; other people's children are just as near and dear to them, regardless of their income level.

As the chairman said earlier today, I, too, feel a bit as though I am trapped in that movie ``Groundhog Day,'' although for a different reason. I feel that I am trapped in ``Groundhog Day'' life. I have been in this instance time and time again, and I come to the Senate today to again ask my colleagues to help me ensure that low-income working families are not forgotten as we discuss tax relief. It is absolutely essential we put ourselves in the shoes of other working Americans, the working families who are the fabric of this great Nation, and say: We believe your children are just as important as our children to the future of this country.

I applaud the action taken in the Senate the week before last. I was pleased we affirmed that the permanency of the child tax credit is a priority of the Senate and should be addressed during conference on this tax reconciliation bill. Even though I applaud that effort, I still say it is not enough. It is not enough to not look further and see those working Americans who are still not going to be helped. It is not enough because the credit in its current form does not work for all low-income working families.

We can and should take one additional step. As some may be aware, to be eligible for the refundable child tax credit, working families must meet an income threshold. If they do not earn enough, they do not qualify for the child credit. The problem is, some of our parents are working full time every week of the year. Yet they still do not earn enough to meet the income threshold to qualify for the credit, much less to receive a meaningful refund.

Heaven forbid we look at what they are making. Is it enough to safely and adequately raise their children? We have an obligation to make sure those people, those hard-working Americans who were willing to play by the rules to get a job, to work hard, to perform things that are important to our quality of life, too, that they have the same opportunity to love and nurture their children and work hard to provide their children a better opportunity than they may have had.

I will say this again because it is right and it is important people know. I will say it again to make sure the point is not missed. We have full-time working parents who do not qualify for the child tax credit because their incomes are simply too low. Again, people playing by the rules, working hard so our lives might be a little bit better, yet under minimum wage, they do not make enough.

If we are talking about American values, if we are talking about family values, if we want to reinforce the aspect of work instead of handouts, if we want to reinforce caring for all of America's children because we know all of America's children are part of our future, our future leaders, if what we want to do is reinforce working, caring for our children, taking the responsibility of our families--that does not mean just my children or just a few children; it means all children--are we not then going to step up to the plate and say to those hard-working Americans that your children are just as important as my children?

In 2003, the income threshold was set at $10,500. The threshold is indexed for inflation and thus has increased the last 2 years. It was $10,750 in 2004 and $11,000 in 2005. And, yes, it will go up again in 2006.

Unfortunately, the low-income worker's wage is not increasing at the same pace, or even at all, for that matter, as we look at the low-income working wages that exist in this country. A single working mother or father in the State of Arkansas or across this Nation perhaps, who makes minimum wage, is going to get $5.15, working a 40-hour week, every week of the year. That is not taking a vacation, taking their family to the beach, going to Disney World or anything else.

It is working a 40-hour week, every week of the year, 52 weeks out of the year, with an income of only $10,712 a year. That came in under the threshold, both in 2004 and 2005; it will, most definitely, come in below the threshold this year, in 2006.

It is wrong--it is absolutely wrong--to provide this credit to some hard-working Americans while leaving others behind. The single, working parent who is stocking the shelves in your local grocery store is every bit as deserving as the teacher or accountant or insurance salesman who qualifies for the credit in its current form. And, yes, they love their children just as much as you and I love our children and want for them all of the great things that are available to young American children when they can be nurtured and cared for and encouraged and taken care of in their families.

We must address this inequity, and we must ensure our Tax Code works for all Americans, especially those working parents forced to get by on minimum wage.

Senator Snowe and I have proposed a solution to this horrible inequity. If we were to simply de-index the income threshold and set it at a reasonable level, such as $10,000, all full-time working parents, including those making minimum wage, would qualify.

We talk day in and day out about how important our children are. We talk about making them a priority in this country and recognizing how they weave the fabric of this great Nation and the future. We understand, as parents, it is not easy. It is not easy to raise children in this environment, with everything from Internet security to making sure education is available, and health care, including simple nutritional needs. We have 600,000 Arkansans living with food insecurity, the majority of which are children.

Why is it we cannot take the extra step to make sure that, again, those who are playing by the rules, those who are willing to work, to work to care for their children and their families--we are not going to give them the same benefit of that Tax Code?

This is a simple, easy solution Senator Snowe and I have offered to a very serious problem. I will not rest until we get it done. As we prepare to enter conference with the House on this tax reconciliation bill, I encourage my colleagues to support Senator Snowe and me in our efforts to fix this inequity.

As many of you may recall, the last time Senator Snowe and I went to work to improve the child tax credit, back during the debate of the President's tax package in 2003, tax relief for low-income families was left behind in the conference. I hope we have changed. I hope we have refocused ourselves and our priorities. I hope we do recognize all working American families are struggling today with high gas prices, the cost of health care, and higher education--education at all--that all working families are struggling to heat and cool their homes with high energy costs and are struggling to keep the jobs they have in their globally competitive companies.

Please, let's not repeat this mistake again. If the opportunity arises to take action on the child tax credit in this conference, we must not only extend it, we must ensure that it works for all of America's working families.

We should always remember that budgets reflect priorities, the priorities of those who put those budgets together. We know priorities create choices. The choices we make in budgets and in decisions on the floor of the Senate and in conferences over such critical issues--our choices--have real and substantive consequences, not just to those working families out there who so desperately want success for their child, but it has consequences for our Nation. If we set our priorities so low that we leave behind the children of hard-working American families, the consequences for our Nation will be great.

I thank you, Mr. President, and again encourage my colleagues to support the efforts not only of a child tax credit but also making sure it is fair to all working families of our Nation.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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