Politics

Dems Fight Delay On Tax Expansion

July 7, 2003 / 5:51 AM EDT / AP

Democrats are using delaying tactics on the floor of the House of Representatives to protest a lack of progress on legislation expanding the child tax credit for low-income families.

"We will continue to be disruptive," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday after Democrats stalled House action for roughly an hour.

"If they don't have time for America's children of 12 million working families," the California Democrat said of Republicans, "then they're not going to have time for some of their other priorities as well."

Democrats returned to the issue shortly before 2:00 a.m. Thursday, after the House finished work on a foreign aid bill, forcing further debate on a motion urging quick action on the child tax credit legislation.

President Bush planned to promote the child tax credit during a visit Thursday to Philadelphia, one day before the first round of rebate checks are set to be mailed to middle-income families. The checks, worth up to $400 per child, are the result of a tax cut enacted in May that increased the credit to $1,000 this year.

Democrats want to expand the credit for low-income families that do not pay enough income tax to take advantage of the bigger benefit. Pushing for the expansion to be passed before checks go to other families, Democrats and their Republican supporters have urged the president with requests asking him to personally intervene.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, made another appeal on Wednesday.

"This is simply unacceptable," Snowe said. "There is no justifiable reason why we cannot enact a law this week."

The House and Senate have both passed bills expanding the child tax credit for low-income families, but they stand far apart on other items. The Senate proposed a compromise to the House this week, but the lawmakers named to negotiate a compromise have not yet met.

The child credit rebate checks mailed Friday will go to about 8.6 million taxpayers whose Social Security numbers end in 00-33. Two more rounds of checks will be mailed on Aug. 1 and Aug. 8.