Charles Rangel: “this substitute, for those who are listening, gives an opportunity for people to do the right thing for working families…”

“this substitute, for those who are listening, gives an opportunity for people to do the right thing for working families that deserve some type of tax break for their young kids, that deserve a deduction. Again, the basic difference is do we want to burden the children of the future with the price that we pay for this. We say no. Can we not think about doing things and providing this type of relief and paying for it? There has to be in this Tax Code that weighs 25 pounds some loopholes that my colleagues can find for the wealthy that you are prepared to say, this is a time of war, this is a time of sacrifice, we just cannot take care of everybody at the same time. Let us start off with those people that work every day. Those families, the kids from the families that are working, that are volunteering, that are in the National Guard, that are in the Reserve, these are the families that really need the help. When we start getting up there to $300,000 a year, these are not the families from the communities that produce our warriors. It is not me that says that; it is the DOD that says it. The statistics say it. The low- and the middle class are the warriors that are fighting in Iraq. These are the families that deserve the support. We welcome the fact that our colleagues saw their way clear to make adjustments so that combat pay would not exclude these families from some type of relief. But every time you bring a tax bill, do not drive us deeper and deeper in debt.”