Katherine Clark: “Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was able to spend time not only with my extended family but with the families of my…”

“Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was able to spend time not only with my extended family but with the families of my district. And it struck me--not for the first time--how disconnected much of the conversation in Washington is from the concerns of typical families. At the beginning of this week, we had an opportunity for a bipartisan agreement on making tax credits for working families permanent. But that has been derailed by cynical posturing. In 2012, the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit helped lift 10.1 million people out of poverty. These programs work for working families. But instead of voting on a broader bill today to help working families and businesses alike, we are kicking the can down the road once again. This is a process that benefits the status quo and holds the needs of working families hostage to another time when it is politically convenient--and it is no way to govern. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to continue working towards long-term tax policies that will help families who cannot afford to wait any longer for Congress to do right by them. ____________________”