Lynn C. Woolsey: “today's vote on the Republican child tax credit bill was a squandered opportunity, a squandered opportunity to invest in…”

“today's vote on the Republican child tax credit bill was a squandered opportunity, a squandered opportunity to invest in our children and their families. We missed the chance to pass legislation that would immediately grant our Nation's hardworking families an increased child tax credit. The families I am talking about are those with dedicated workers that put in full-time hours at a low wage, pay taxes, and earn less than $26,000 a year. It is unfortunate that Republicans believe these forgotten children and families do not contribute enough to deserve a break. Their actions today left me no doubt that their priorities are dead wrong. Why could the House Republican leadership not follow the other body and bring a clean child tax credit bill before us today? According to a colleague on the other side of the aisle, ``If we're going to do it, we should get something in exchange. If we give people a tax break that don't pay taxes, it's really welfare.'' Mr. Speaker, these families are not on welfare. They do pay taxes. They are not seeking welfare. They are seeking the same acknowledgment for their hard work as the rich received in the Republican tax package earlier, and they deserve tax relief now. This supposed party of compassionate conservatism has exploited the child tax credit issue to pass even more tax cuts for their wealthy friends.”