Working Family Child Assistance Act

Mr. President, today Congress is confronted with how to best provide tax relief to American families earning slightly more than the minimum wage. We can do that by expanding the availability of the child tax credit to more working families.

In 2001, I pushed to make the child tax credit refundable for workers making around the minimum wage. As enacted in 2001, a portion of a taxpayer's

child tax credit would be refundable--up to 10 percent of earnings above $10,000.

Last year, Congress passed the Working Families Tax Relief of 2004, which increased from 10 percent to 15 percent the portion of the child tax credit that is refundable. Although the legislation increased the amount of the refundable child credit, it failed to increase the number of families eligible for the benefit. The consequences are serious for low-income Americans living paycheck to paycheck. It means that tens of thousands of low-income families will be completely ineligible for a credit they should receive.

This year, because the income threshold is indexed, only taxpayers earning over $11,000 are eligible to receive the refundable portion of the child tax credit. Low-income families earning less than $11,000 are shut out of the child tax credit completely.

For example, a single mother who earns the minimum wage and works a 40 hour week for all 52 weeks of the year fails to qualify for the refundable portion of the child tax credit. Since the mother earns $10,700, she is a mere $300 away from qualifying for the credit. Worse, if the single mother does not receive a raise the following year, it will be even tougher to qualify because the $11,000 she originally needed to earn is adjusted for inflation and will increase.

I am introducing legislation, the Working Family Child Assistance Act, with Senators Lincoln, Chafee, Obama, and Rockefeller that will enable more hard-working, low-income families to receive the refundable child credit this year. My legislation returns to $10,000 the amount of income a family must earn to qualify for the credit. Moreover, my bill would ``deindex'' the $10,000 threshold for inflation, so families failing to get a raise each year would not lose benefits.

Most notably, my bill is identical to the refundable child credit proposal the Senate passed in May 2001 as part of its version of that year's tax bill. Although I was able to ensure that a refundable child credit would be part of the final bill sent to President Bush, conferees did index the $10,000 threshold to inflation despite my best efforts.

The staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that this legislation will allow an additional 600,000 families to benefit from the refundable child tax credit.

For example, the legislation provides a $113 child credit to a mom who earns $10,750 per year. That's money she could use to buy groceries, rent, school books and other family necessities.

The Commerce Department recently reported that between August 2004 and August 2005 average weekly wages adjusted for inflation fell 1.1 percent. Obviously, families need all the help we can give them.

Our families and our country are better off when government lets people keep more of what they earn. Parents deserve their per-child tax credit, and this bill rewards families for work.

I am committed to this issue and have called on President Bush to work with Congress so we can help an additional one million children, whose parents and guardians struggle every day to take care of them.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today Congress is confronted with how to best provide tax relief to American families earning slightly more than the minimum wage. We can do that by expanding the availability of the child tax credit to more working families.

In 2001, I pushed to make the child tax credit refundable for workers making around the minimum wage. As enacted in 2001, a portion of a taxpayer's

child tax credit would be refundable--up to 10 percent of earnings above $10,000.

Last year, Congress passed the Working Families Tax Relief of 2004, which increased from 10 percent to 15 percent the portion of the child tax credit that is refundable. Although the legislation increased the amount of the refundable child credit, it failed to increase the number of families eligible for the benefit. The consequences are serious for low-income Americans living paycheck to paycheck. It means that tens of thousands of low-income families will be completely ineligible for a credit they should receive.

This year, because the income threshold is indexed, only taxpayers earning over $11,000 are eligible to receive the refundable portion of the child tax credit. Low-income families earning less than $11,000 are shut out of the child tax credit completely.

For example, a single mother who earns the minimum wage and works a 40 hour week for all 52 weeks of the year fails to qualify for the refundable portion of the child tax credit. Since the mother earns $10,700, she is a mere $300 away from qualifying for the credit. Worse, if the single mother does not receive a raise the following year, it will be even tougher to qualify because the $11,000 she originally needed to earn is adjusted for inflation and will increase.

I am introducing legislation, the Working Family Child Assistance Act, with Senators Lincoln, Chafee, Obama, and Rockefeller that will enable more hard-working, low-income families to receive the refundable child credit this year. My legislation returns to $10,000 the amount of income a family must earn to qualify for the credit. Moreover, my bill would ``deindex'' the $10,000 threshold for inflation, so families failing to get a raise each year would not lose benefits.

Most notably, my bill is identical to the refundable child credit proposal the Senate passed in May 2001 as part of its version of that year's tax bill. Although I was able to ensure that a refundable child credit would be part of the final bill sent to President Bush, conferees did index the $10,000 threshold to inflation despite my best efforts.

The staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that this legislation will allow an additional 600,000 families to benefit from the refundable child tax credit.

For example, the legislation provides a $113 child credit to a mom who earns $10,750 per year. That's money she could use to buy groceries, rent, school books and other family necessities.

The Commerce Department recently reported that between August 2004 and August 2005 average weekly wages adjusted for inflation fell 1.1 percent. Obviously, families need all the help we can give them.

Our families and our country are better off when government lets people keep more of what they earn. Parents deserve their per-child tax credit, and this bill rewards families for work.

I am committed to this issue and have called on President Bush to work with Congress so we can help an additional one million children, whose parents and guardians struggle every day to take care of them.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I rise today with Senator Cornyn to introduce the ``Pulmonary Hypertension Research Act of 2005.'' This important legislation increases funding for medical research dedicated to finding treatments and possibly a cure for Pulmonary Hypertension (PH), and would establish Centers of Excellence that would be charged with educating health professionals and the public about the disease.

PH is a serious, often fatal condition. It is estimated that more than 100,000 Americans suffer from pulmonary hypertension. It does not discriminate based on race, gender or age. However, women are more than twice as likely as men to develop the condition. PH is characterized by dangerously high blood pressure in the lungs. In PH patients, the walls of the arteries that take blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs thicken so much that they restrict the flow of blood.

The Pulmonary Hypertension Research Act would do three things: First, it expands PH research at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the NIH, authorizing $250 million over five years to fund PH research. Additional funding would help researchers further understand PH and develop new treatment options for the illness.

Second, the legislation would establish ``Centers of Excellence'' which would focus on PH research and education efforts for both health professionals and the general public. One of the greatest tragedies of PH is that it often goes undiagnosed. Most Americans have never heard of PH and do not know that symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, and dizziness are common indicators of the illness. Lastly, the legislation establishes a data system and clearinghouse at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute that would disseminate information on PH to the general public in order to facilitate more accurate and timely diagnosis.

Since my first days in Congress, I have been fighting to make sure women don't get left out or left behind when it comes to their health. From women's inclusion in clinical trials to quality standards for mammograms, I have led the way to make sure women's health needs are treated fairly and taken seriously. This legislation builds on these past successes to address this silent disease among young American women. I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill signed into law.

Mr. President, I am pleased to join with my colleague Senator Max Baucus in introducing the ``Medicare Cost-Sharing and Welfare Extension Act of 2005.''

This legislation extends the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, TANF, for 3 months and provides funding for 6 months of Transitional Medical Assistance, TMA, for families

making the transition from welfare to work. As my colleagues know, H.R. 3672, which has been signed into law, would extend TANF until December 31, 2005, so this legislation represents a total extension of TANF until the end of March, 2006.

This is the twelfth extension of TANF and related programs. Welfare reform reauthorization should have been passed years ago. Too many families are languishing on the welfare rolls and we are seeing a backsliding of the improvements that we saw in the early years, after welfare reform. Child care funding has remained stagnant. States have been operating their welfare programs under a cloud of uncertainty regarding what a final Federal welfare reauthorization bill would require of them. We need to make some critical reforms to build on the success of the 1996 bill and give States the ability to manage and plan for their welfare programs. I am hopeful that this represents the final short-term extension of TANF and that the Congress will act quickly to pass a comprehensive welfare bill.

Additionally, this legislation includes a provision to extend cost- sharing assistance to qualifying individuals, QIs, for the Medicare Part B premium through September, 2006. This program has been helping vulnerable individuals with incomes between 120 and 135 percent of the Federal Poverty Level since 1997. It is estimated that the Part B premiums will cost a beneficiary $88.50 a month, an increase of $10.30 from the current $78.20 premium. For these low-income individuals, that represents a significant percentage of their monthly income. The President's budget includes a one year extension of the QI program.

Both the QI and TANF programs provide critical support to individuals and families with children who are in need--folks who otherwise might not be able to get healthcare services or make ends meet.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the joint resolution be printed in the Record.