July 10, 1997
Clinton's Child Credit: A Day Late, A Dollar Short, and One Million Fewer Children Aided
Not only did President Clinton arrive to the tax-cut debate late, but for the more than 1 million children excluded from his plan, it would have been better if he had not arrived at all. On May 2, Congress and President Clinton reached an agreement to balance the budget and cut taxes, mostly in the form of per-child tax credits. Since then, the Senate has worked diligently on the Taxpayer Relief Act (TRA), which it passed June 27 by an overwhelming margin (80-18). However, not until July 2 — after both houses of Congress had completed their work on tax relief — did President Clinton even offer his tax counter-proposal.
Not only was President Clinton late for America’s children, he was "short" as well. In fact, President Clinton’s child credit is "short" $13.2 billion, according to his own estimation when compared to the Senate plan. President Clinton’s plan is also "short" by over 1 million children.
His Plan: $13 Billion Short and Noncitizens Favored Over Children
- According to Clinton’s own estimate, his child tax credit would provide only $70.2 billion in relief over the next five years.
- According to the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), the Senate’s Taxpayer Relief Act would provide $83.4 billion over the same period.
- That means Clinton is proposing cutting tax relief to America’s children by $13 billion.
- While he cut the child credit $13 billion, Clinton demanded $14 billion for more welfare spending — $10 billion just for noncitizens!
One Million Children Left Out
- According to JCT, the Senate bill will benefit 43.1 million children in 1998.
- According to JCT, President Clinton’s proposal would help just 41.8 million children in 1998.
- That leaves Clinton’s plan more than 1 million shy of the Senate-passed bill.
Clinton Punishes Middle-Class Working Mothers
- Under President Clinton’s proposal, families of two working parents each making just $30,000 would be denied the full $500 credit per child.
- Under President Clinton’s proposal, if those two working parents earned just $37,500 each, they’d get no credit at all for their children.
- That amounts to punishing working mothers.
- This is from the same Administration that thinks you should count as part of your income the money you could earn from renting your home — even when you’re living in it, and not renting it!
- While Clinton thinks it "unfair" to help America’s middle-class taxpayers, he thinks it very "fair" to demand that the same middle class pay $10 billion for more welfare spending for noncitizens!