Republicans Kills Bipartisan Taxpayer Protection Bill
For Immediate Release - June 19, 2003

Washington, DC - Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA) offered an amendment today to protect American taxpayers. The Congressman's amendment to H.R.1528, the "Taxpayer Protection and IRS Accountability Act of 2003" sought to strip out poison pill provisions added by House republicans, thereby returning the bill to a version that had been endorsed by the Bush Administration. The underlying legislation was a package of logical, bipartisan and pro-taxpayer improvements to the Internal Revenue Code.

Before the full House considered HR 1528, Republicans added a provision that would have stripped consumer protections from the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program. This program provides a tax credit to a number of unemployed people who purchase health insurance, as long as they purchase a state-sanctioned plan that includes certain federally prescribed protections. The Republican provision removed the protection that requires qualifying state plans accept new recipients regardless of a preexisting medical conditions. The tax credit became part of TAA as a result of a carefully negotiated portion of the Trade Promotion Authority bill that was enacted into law last year. The Senate is sure to kill any bill that modifies the delicate balance established in the 107th Congress.

"This is a meaningful amendment that will increase the likelihood that the underlying bill will be approved by the other chamber," McDermott said.

McDermott's amendment would also extend the child tax credit to the families of 12 million children that were unfairly left out of the recent tax cuts passed by Congress and signed into law by the president. Two weeks ago, the Senate passed a measure to immediately give an increased child tax credit to 6.5 million working families, however the House passed a bill which will cost the Federal Treasury $82 billion and is a measure that the Senate was sure to oppose. The McDermott amendment included the Senate-passed language, which would have broken the gridlock between the two congressional bodies and allowed 12 million children to receive the tax credit that more affluent children are expecting to receive.

Congressman McDermott, a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, stated that, "Congress has been rabidly passing tax cuts without the help of Democrats. When given opportunity to do something meaningful for taxpayers, Republicans worked with Democrats until the very end. Regrettably, they inserted a provision that is sure to kill this bill. It's really a shame what is going on in the House right now. I'm disappointed that my amendment failed, but I will keep fighting."

The legislation (H.R.1528) was passed by the US House of Representatives by a vote of 252 to 170 on Thursday, June 19, 2003