Providing for Consideration of H.R. 4351, AMT Relief Act of 2007

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4351, AMT RELIEF ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - December 12, 2007)

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the rule we are considering and the bill, the AMT relief bill.

Last month, this Congress stepped up. We passed responsible legislation providing millions of hardworking middle-class families with the tax cuts they need and they deserve. And we're back today, working once again to protect over 23 million middle-class families from the encroaching alternative minimum tax.

In my home State, Connecticut, failing to act on the AMT would mean new taxes on 358,842 households, including almost 67,000 in my district. This is must-pass legislation for our families and for our changing economy.

I commend Chairman Rangel for leading the way for providing relief in a way that allows us to get our fiscal house in order by sticking to the PAYGO rules that this Congress adopted.

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This legislation also includes a long overdue expansion of the child tax credit. Last year, because of the way the laws were written, 7 million children, most of them infants and toddlers, in working families across the country remained ineligible for even a partial credit.

This year we do better. We return to the original intent of the child tax credit. By lowering the earnings threshold to $8,500, we will capture additional millions of children who will be eligible for the tax credit, and the families of 10 million others will receive larger refunds.

With this bill, we have an opportunity to help these kids. I urge my colleagues to vote for this rule and to pass this legislation.

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