Chris Van Hollen: “This is a question of basic fairness. It is a question of priorities. This House recently passed a $350 billion tax…”

“This is a question of basic fairness. It is a question of priorities. This House recently passed a $350 billion tax bill, weighted disproportionately to the very wealthiest in this country. And in the conference on that bill, we cut out the child tax credit for 12 million low-income working families. The Senate solution is to take $3.5 billion and address that issue to make sure that we treat those children with decency. The House Republican leadership has said no. They said, we will only accept that $3.5 billion addition if you pass an additional $83 billion tax cut package. So they are holding those kids hostage to this other package at the same time that we have a record $450 billion deficit in this country. As a result of those deficits which have been fueled by the tax cuts to the wealthiest, this past week we were $8 billion short on the No Child Left Behind bill. Mr. Speaker, we are being unfair to the basic priorities of the people of the country. We should adopt this motion to instruct.”