Chuck Grassley: “I compliment Senator Jeffords for doing a lot of work in this area. I was able to work with him on the 2001 tax bill to…”

“I compliment Senator Jeffords for doing a lot of work in this area. I was able to work with him on the 2001 tax bill to accomplish lots of what he wanted to accomplish in the area of refundability. But what we have here is an example of going just a little bit further than we should. There is $95 billion in this bill for children. In addition, we accelerate the refundable child credit for low-income families, the exact group Senator Jeffords seeks to help. I note also that there are some problems with the earned-income tax credit. It has 30-percent improper payments, according to the Treasury. That is $10 billion a year of improper payments. The GAO lists this program on its high-risk list. I think we are at a point where before we expand the earned-income tax credit we need to make sure it is reformed. I haven't made a point of order yet, but I would like to make a point of order. The pending amendment offered by the Senator from Vermont increases mandatory spending, if agreed to, and would cause the underlying bill to exceed the committee's section 302(a) allocations. Therefore, a point of order is raised against the amendment pursuant to section 302(f) of the Budget Act.”