| WASHINGTON,
D.C. – Writing to President Bush on behalf of the 12 million children and
the 6.5 million working families who have been denied an increase in the
child tax credit, House Democratic Women members called on the President
to “intervene immediately to persuade the House leadership to accept
the Senate-passed version of the expanded child tax credit,” before
Congress recesses this week.
“The
Senate bill would provide a modest but essential child tax credit, one
that is especially needed by the nearly 4 million single mothers and the
one million stay-at-home mothers whose families were left out of the Jobs
and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act. In fact, as a recent National
Women’s Law Center report concluded, two-thirds of the parents excluded
from the expanded child tax credit provisions are women,” the members
continued.
“Beginning
on July 25, checks will go out to some families, but 6.5 million working
families – primarily headed by women – will be left out. We must
not let that happen,” they concluded.
Those
signing the letter are: Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Representatives
Jan Schakowsky; Louise Slaughter; Carolyn Maloney; Eddie Bernice Johnson;
Donna Christensen; Stephanie Tubbs Jones; Zoe Lofgren; Linda Sanchez; Betty
McCollum; Lois Capps; Barbara Lee; Susan Davis; Hilda Solis; Tammy Baldwin;
Sheila Jackson Lee; Rosa DeLauro; Lynn Woolsey; Nydia Velazquez; Jane Harman;
Marcy Kaptur; Maxine Waters; Darlene Hooley; Grace Napolitano; Carolyn
Kilpatrick; Karen McCarthy; Juanita Millender-McDonald; Ellen Tauscher;
Carolyn McCarthy; Madeleine Bordallo; Nita Lowey; Lucille Roybal-Allard;
Diana DeGette; Loretta Sanchez; Anna Eshoo; Eleanor Holmes Norton; Diane
Watson; Julia Carson; Denise Majette; and Corrine Brown.
The
full text of the letter to President Bush is attached:
July
22, 2003
The
Honorable George W. Bush
President
of the United States
1600
Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington,
D.C. 20500
Dear
President Bush:
We
are writing to request that you intervene immediately to persuade the House
leadership to accept the Senate-passed version of the expanded child tax
credit. Without your direct action, we are greatly concerned that
Congress will recess this week without acting, denying needed assistance
to 12 million children, including 1 million children in military families.
The
failure to act to restore the child tax credit would disproportionately
harm women and their children. The Senate bill would provide a modest
but essential child tax credit, one that is especially needed by the nearly
4 million single mothers and the one million stay-at-home mothers whose
families were left out of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation
Act. In fact, as a recent National Women’s Law Center report concluded,
two-thirds of the parents excluded from the expanded child tax credit provisions
are women.
These
are hard-working parents, striving to do the best for their children and
struggling on limited salaries to meet their financial needs. They
pay taxes, they contribute to their communities, and they deserve to receive
their child tax credit just like other families. Working women and
stay-at-home mothers should not be punished because their family income
is less than $26,625 a year.
Mr.
President, it is up to you to make sure that Congress doesn’t go home without
restoring the child tax credit. Beginning on July 25, checks will
go out to some families, but 6.5 million working families – primarily headed
by women – will be left out. We must not let that happen. |
