During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-VT) spoke about the Republican reconciliation bill.
00:00Witnesses for being here and for your time, and to Mr. Kelly's comment, I absolutely spent most of my career in the private sector for a long time before coming to Congress.
00:14And as someone who worked hard and worked in small businesses and in big businesses, I know one of the most important things to building a strong economy is making the right investments and certainty and stability.
00:30We have no certainty and stability. We have whiplash with the administration's positions on tariffs. They're on, they're off.
00:38We've talked a lot about the impact that's already having on Nevada and reduced tourism.
00:44Businesses aren't investing because they don't know what's happening going forward.
00:47Manufacturers are uncertain because they're losing customers.
00:53People don't want to necessarily buy products from the U.S. if they aren't sure what the rates of, what the prices of products are going to be when tariffs are on again, off again.
01:02And now we even have a deadline of August 1st and we don't even know what's happened.
01:06Congress should have a say on that and there should be more courage from members on, from this committee, from Republicans to make sure that Congress has a say on what happens on trade policy and to make sure that we have that stability going forward.
01:21And then the investments, the investments in working families to make sure families are doing well.
01:28And unfortunately, this big ugly bill has made its priorities clear.
01:34Focus on the wealthiest and the well-connected.
01:37The tax breaks for the wealthiest, the well-connected for large corporations happen to be permanent, but they're paying lip service to working families.
01:47Only limited and temporary provisions in this bill for working families.
01:52It's a broken promise. Trump and Republicans said they were going to lower costs on day one, but that has not happened at all.
02:00We've seen costs go up. Food, we're talking about what the impact this bill has on energy, on housing, for working families who are trying to get by, on childcare.
02:13All of these things are going against working families, and this bill is a broken promise.
02:20Since January, we've seen over and over the impact of this administration on Republicans, and now we're here, I guess, in a hearing to just try to promote their bill.
02:33But I think stripping 15 million people across the country of their healthcare coverage, gutting nutrition programs, rolling back energy tax credits, all things that actually give us a great return, is all part of this big broken promise.
02:52Senator Cannizzaro, thank you for being here.
02:55I've been a longtime supporter and leader on the child tax credit.
02:59I worked with House colleagues to expand the child tax credit in the American Rescue Plan.
03:05It was signed by President Biden, and Republicans let that version of the child tax credit expire.
03:12Now they're trying to take a victory lap while 22 million American children live in families based on the policy in this bill.
03:20They don't earn enough money to receive the full child tax credit.
03:25We know that when we give, and many of these are families struggling to get by, working hard, but we're leaving them out because they don't make enough money to earn the full credit.
03:37This bill does not make the child tax credit fully refundable, which means we get money to the folks who need it the most.
03:45What does that impact, what does the impact of that have on Nevada, on the families who rely on the credit to make the ends meet?
03:54Thank you for that question, Congresswoman.
03:56I would note that Nevada is primarily a working class state.
04:00So we are comprised of working class families who fall right into those parameters that you discussed.
04:07Housing costs here have risen faster than other states.
04:12Our health care costs have been high. Child care is extremely hard to find and incredibly expensive and so on and so on.
04:19And so when you take money out of working class Nevadans pockets, people make tough choices about giving things up.
04:27They rent doesn't get paid. Utilities don't get paid. Car payments. People go into debt.
04:33And often when people get behind, it's difficult or impossible for them to catch up financially, especially if they're also trying to provide for children.
04:40So not having that be fully refundable and putting that money into working class families' pockets, of so many of which are impacted here in Nevada, makes a real difference.
04:49Absolutely. And we know when we had policy where the child tax credit was refundable, we cut childhood poverty across this country almost in half.
04:58We could have done a lot more if we keep that policy going. Thank you. I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
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