Lynn C. Woolsey: “do my colleagues know that my district is one of the most affluent districts in this Nation? In fact, they are the…”

“do my colleagues know that my district is one of the most affluent districts in this Nation? In fact, they are the people who benefit the most from the Republican tax cuts. But do my colleagues know what they are asking me, Mr. Speaker? They are saying, why in the world are the 12 million children that belong to the hardest-working families and the most struggling families in this Nation not benefiting from the child tax credit? They do not understand how these low-income families, those who work hard to make ends meet, why they cannot get a little bit so they can buy something extra for their children, so they can possibly take a vacation, so that they can have enough money to buy shoes when the school year begins. Mr. Speaker, I was a single mom on welfare 35 years ago, and I had three very small children, 1, 3, and 5 years old. I was working. When my kids would outgrow their shoes, two boys and a girl, and those boys grew like weeds, I am telling you, my heart would stop, because I was scared to death I might not have the money to buy them decent shoes. The people I work for who elected me, women who had been on welfare and who have walked my walk, they know, they know the difference between having it all and having enough and making sure that other people have what they need to survive also. My constituents support the child tax credit. They want to hear just why the Republicans refuse to bring it to the floor, and they want it debated; and so do I, Mr.…”