Refundable Child Tax Credit Eligibility Verification Reform Act

Mr. Speaker, a little bit later today the House is going to vote on the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act. This is a bill that is very important to our civilian and civil aviation operators. It would block them from participating in the European Union's emission trading scheme.

Now the reason this is important is because of this: according to Bloomberg news, the inclusion of the airline industry in the EU's 2005 cap-and-trade program will cost U.S. airline companies between--get this--$10.1- and $39.4 billion from 2012 to 2020. Now who do you think is going to pay that cost? Consumers are going to pay it.

The House has already decided we don't want a cap-and-trade system. We voted against that domestically, so why would we want our airline industry to have to participate in this on an international basis? MIT economists have looked at it and said the new rule will increase costs on passengers flying to Europe, all to subsidize their cap-and-trade systems.

With rising fuel costs and a down economy, we simply cannot afford this. So for these reasons, I urge my colleagues to protect American sovereignty to support our domestic aviation industry and vote in favor of H.R. 1956.

Last year, illegal immigrants bilked $4.2 billion from U.S. taxpayers due to a loophole with the refundable child tax credit. According to a new report, this rampant abuse has cost American taxpayers billions. That's just wrong.

It's time to close this loophole. That's why I've reintroduced the commonsense legislation, H.R. 1956, that stops the child tax credit sham.

The bill requires tax filers to provide their Social Security number to receive that benefit. With the dire need to cut government spending, I hope this simple fix gets a serious look as a way to stamp out waste, fraud, and abuse.

If you want to stop illegal immigrants from duping taxpayers for billions of dollars every year by fraudulently claiming this credit, call the White House at 202-456-1414. Tell them to pass this bill right now. Tell them that H.R. 1956 should be a top priority.