Max Baucus: “I rise to support the bill offered by my good friend, the senior Senator from Arkansas, Mrs. Lincoln, and my good friend…”

“I rise to support the bill offered by my good friend, the senior Senator from Arkansas, Mrs. Lincoln, and my good friend from Maine, Senator Snowe. Their legislation ensures that our military and low- and middle-income parents will receive a check from the child tax credit. The legislation repairs the damage done by the majority in the tax bill conference. Senator Lincoln was successful in getting this provision included in the $350 billion tax bill that passed the Finance Committee and the Senate. But the provision was specifically stripped out before passage of the final version of the $350 billion tax bill. Let me give you some examples of who does not benefit from the tax bill that was signed into law by President Bush last week. First, a 24-year-old single mom with one child. She works hard every day to put food on the table, buy clothes for her daughter, and ensure adequate childcare for her daughter while she is at work. She makes $15,000 a year. She pays $1,150 per year in payroll taxes. She pays $1,150 in Federal taxes yet gets zero benefit from the recently enacted tax bill. She will not see any check this summer. Taxes are taxes. I would like to see someone tell her that her payroll taxes are less of a burden to her than an equal amount of income taxes paid by Bill Gates. Senators Lincoln and Snowe fixed that problem. The fix means $225 in her pocket this summer. She sees a big chunk of her paycheck every week getting paid to the Government.”