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Congress Votes this Week on Important Appropriations and Tax Bills
This week, the Congress will vote on two measures that are of special
importance to low-income women and their families. Beginning as
early as tomorrow, the House and Senate will vote on the bill funding
the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.
President Bush has repeatedly threatened to veto the bill because it
exceeds the amounts in his budget, even though the overall increase
in the bill is small. The bill is imperfect in some areas, but a vote
against it will mean more cuts to many programs families and
communities depend upon. A strong show of support for the bill is
important to protect vital investments as negotiations over funding
levels continue with the White House.

Later this week, the House will vote on the Temporary Tax Relief Act
of 2007, a tax reform bill that includes significant provisions for
many low-and middle-income individuals. The bill lowers the income
eligibility for the refundable child tax credit, helping 12 million
children in low-income families; prevents the Alternative Minimum Tax
from affecting 21 million additional tax filers next year; helps
military families getting combat pay keep their earned income tax
credit; and pays for the changes by closing tax loopholes for many of
the nation's wealthiest individuals. Support for this bill is needed
so that the House hears loud and clear that low-income families
trying to make ends meet, not super-wealthy financial managers,
deserve our help.

Your call can make a difference! Tell Congress that it's time to
invest in America's families.

To speak to your Senator or Representative, call the U.S. Capitol
switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to speak to your Member of
Congress, or click here

http://action.nwlc.org/site/PageServer?
pagename=Find_Your_Elected_Officials&JServSessionIdr009=86u9oyw9f1.app
5b

to look up the name and contact information of your Senator or
Representative.

What to Say When You Call Your Representative

My name is _________. I am a constituent and I am requesting that
Representative __________ support the Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education Appropriations bill and the Temporary Tax
Relief Act of 2007.

What to Say When You Call Your Senator

My name is _________. I am a constituent and I am requesting that
Senator _______ support the Labor, Health and Human Services, and
Education Appropriations bill.

To find out more about the bills, please read our summaries below.

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations
Conference Report

Late last week, the House and Senate reached agreement on how to
resolve their differences in the FY 2008 Labor-HHS-Ed appropriations
bill. Overall, the spending levels in the bill represent a modest
improvement over spending levels provided in recent years, but are
still less than is needed to make up for cuts in many vital programs
over the past six years. The bill includes a significant increase for
Title X Family Planning programs, but, disappointingly, also includes
a funding increase for abstinence-only programs. Funding levels in
the bill that we have available include:

Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) + $32.5 million
Head Start + $153.625 million
21st Century Community Learning Centers + $100 million
Even Start - $19.647 million
Title X Family Planning + $310.9

Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007

Last week, Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-NY)
introduced H.R. 3996, the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007. This
bill includes several provisions that are important to women and
their families. The bill would lower income eligibility for the
refundable child tax to $8,500 for next year. Under current law, a
tax filer with a child would need to earn $12,050 to qualify for the
refundable child tax credit next year. This change would benefit 12
million children. This improvement is part of a bill that would also
prevent the Alternative Minimum Tax from affecting 21 million middle-
income and upper-income individuals and families. In addition, the
bill ensures that military families do not lose the earned income
credit because much of their qualifying income is combat pay.

H.R. 3996 also promotes tax fairness by ensuring that many of the
nation's wealthiest tax payers no longer evade paying their fair
share of taxes. The bill closes many egregious loopholes that have
subsidized the incomes of some of the wealthiest workers in the
entire world hedge fund managers and other financial managers, some
of whom earn hundreds of millions of dollars annually for their work.
By closing these loopholes, the bill is able to pay for all of its
tax assistance for low-and middle-income families.

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