(Host) Congressman Bernie Sanders says he wants Congress to restore tax credits for low income working families – credits that were stripped at the last minute from the new federal tax cut law.
The law was signed Wednesday by President Bush. It increases the federal child care credit from $600 to $1,000. Eligible taxpayers will actually receive a $400 per child check this summer as the law is phased in.
But according to a new report, working families with incomes less than $26,000 will not be eligible for the program because they don’t pay enough in federal taxes. The provision was taken out of the bill to help keep the cost of the legislation within certain limits. Sanders says the move was very unfair:
(Sanders) “People should understand that these guys in Washington are extremely cynical. Their goal is not to create jobs, their goal is not to help working families. It’s not to help the middle class. It is to help the wealthy and the powerful and that’s what this bill does. Frankly I wish I could tell you I was shocked and surprised. That’s the way business is done there.”
(Host) Sanders says he hopes to work with dozens of other House members in the effort to restore the child care credits for low income working families.