Jim Ramstad: “Mr. Speaker, imagine the horror of learning that a stranger has kidnapped your child. Then imagine the courage needed to…”

“Mr. Speaker, imagine the horror of learning that a stranger has kidnapped your child. Then imagine the courage needed to keep alive the hope of your child's recovery and safe return. Imagine the costs, the financial costs, incurred by heartbroken parents spending every last penny searching for their abducted child. Mr. Speaker, imagine an agency of the Federal Government that steals your hope, that tells you your child is no longer part of your household. It does not get any worse from out-of-touch Washington bureaucrats than to deny the family of a kidnapped child the dependency exemption, even though the family continues to spend thousands of dollars searching for their child and maintains the child's bedroom. Unbelievable, but true. This is exactly what the Internal Revenue Service has been doing to families of missing and abducted children. Beside me right here, Mr. Speaker, is a picture of a young boy who was stolen from his family in 1989 in Minnesota. His name is Jacob Wetterling, and his story has touched countless lives throughout Minnesota and our Nation.”