Bill Clinton: “Amy's children are over there. And we also have Bernadette Hockaday and her children, and Rhonda Clarke and her children…”

“Amy's children are over there. And we also have Bernadette Hockaday and her children, and Rhonda Clarke and her children here. They're all here, and we thank them all for coming because they all have benefited from the earned-income tax credit. I'd like to thank Gene Sperling, who believed passionately in this when I first met him, well over 6 years ago now; Janet Yellen, the Council of Economic Advisers; Secretary Herman, who was here in the White House helping us to implement the earned-income tax credit in '93. I thank Congressman John Lewis and Congressman Bob Matsui, who are here, who have been passionate advocates; and all the other advocates in the room here--Bob Greenstein, Justin Dart, the others who are here--we thank you for your support. One of the main reasons that I ran for President in 1992 was that I believed that people like Amy could achieve real success if we could unstack the deck against them. I knew that when our Nation was taxing working families into poverty, that was wrong. I knew that when a mother rises at dawn, putting in an honest day's work, and still can't afford to buy the children's clothes, that's wrong. And I was determined to try to do something about it. I also knew that there was a little-known provision in the Tax Code which had been in for several years called the earned-income tax credit that had the potential, if it were actually expanded at an appropriate level, to lift all working families out of poverty.…”