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Senate Democrats Push to Extend Child Tax Credit

Aired June 06, 2003 - 11:19   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, ANCHOR: And we're coming up on 19 minutes after the hour right now. And among the hot button issues Congress is facing this session is the child tax credit and prescription drug payments, as well.
And for a look ahead, we are joined now by our congressional correspondent, Kate Snow.

Morning, Kate.

KATE SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon. That child credit issue is a hot button only because it came up in the press about a week ago, front page story in "The New York Times". Democrats seized on the fact that there were a number of people, millions of Americans, who weren't going to get that child tax credit increase in the bill that the president just signed last week.

Well, now they've gone ahead in the Senate and fixed that, the House poised to do the same but not until there was a lot of pressure on Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): It was the kids that drove the politics. Parents of lower income children weren't going to get a tax credit. Parents with higher incomes were. How, asked the Democrats over and over, how could that possibly be fair?

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Across the board, this administration is waging war on poor children.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two children, could you pick one over the other? Is one more special than another?

SNOW: TV ads were to start running Friday.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), CALIFORNIA: We are determined to make this issue too hot for the Republicans to handle.

SNOW: And it was. Senate Republicans felt the heat and found a way out.

SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: I'm not here to in any way suggest what went right, what went wrong. My understanding is there's a reconciliation of viewpoints now.

SNOW: The fix sends $400 checks to the families of 12 million children who make between about $11,000 and $27,000 a year, including about one million children of military parents or veterans. Another change would make sure married and single parents are treated equally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ayes are 94; the nays are 2. The amendment is agreed to.

SNOW: All but two Republicans in the Senate went for the change. Conservatives in the House will, too, and then some. If Democrats insist on adding spending to a tax bill they once said was too big, Republicans say they'll push for even more.

REP. TOM DELAY (R-TX), MAJORITY LEADER: I'd remind just remind the members of this House that we have now almost $1 trillion left in the budget to do more tax relief for the American people and you know what? We're coming back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: Instead of just changing the child tax credit provision in the House bill, what House Republicans are talking about doing, Leon, is actually even more. They're talking about extending, making almost permanent -- when they say permanent up here on Capitol Hill, they mean for maybe ten years -- the child tax credit increase. That would cost about ten times what they did in the Senate yesterday and Leon, as you know, the House and the Senate have to agree because this thing will ever become law.

HARRIS: Yes, and it's hard to see the Senate rolling over on that one and taking that one sitting down.

But there's also this other topic about prescription drug coverage. I mean, for years that idea has been kicked around there in Washington, but are we getting any closer actually, Kate, to seeing any action on that?

SNOW: I think we are getting closer and here's why. Yesterday in the Senate, a kind of a key agreement was made between the two top dogs, the top senators on the Finance Committee, a Democrat and a Republican: Chuck Grassley, the Republican, Max Baucus, the Democrat, with the support of Senator Ted Kennedy, the big Democrat.

This plan that they're talking about in the Senate would offer prescription drug coverage to people on Medicare, also people who want to choose to go to a more private kind of plan. That's something the White House has been pushing for.

It's very hard to explain it, really, in a quick way, Leon, but basically a $35 a month payment by seniors beginning in 2006. They could have a $275 deductible and then they would get some coverage for prescription drugs, half of their cost up to $3,450. No coverage, then, for a little while and then when they reach another level, they would get 90 percent of it paid for by the government.

So Leon, they're looking at it in the Senate. They're saying this has a real good chance of passing the Senate because of the agreement of these key senators. Unclear, though, what's going to happen in the House. The House has not yet unveiled their prescription drug package but expect all this to heat up now as we reach into the summer, before we go to the July 4 recess -- Leon.

HARRIS: All right. Good deal. Thanks, Kate. Kate Snow in Capitol Hill. Have a good weekend, Kate.

SNOW: You, too.

HARRIS: We'll see you later.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired June 6, 2003 - 11:19   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, ANCHOR: And we're coming up on 19 minutes after the hour right now. And among the hot button issues Congress is facing this session is the child tax credit and prescription drug payments, as well.
And for a look ahead, we are joined now by our congressional correspondent, Kate Snow.

Morning, Kate.

KATE SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Leon. That child credit issue is a hot button only because it came up in the press about a week ago, front page story in "The New York Times". Democrats seized on the fact that there were a number of people, millions of Americans, who weren't going to get that child tax credit increase in the bill that the president just signed last week.

Well, now they've gone ahead in the Senate and fixed that, the House poised to do the same but not until there was a lot of pressure on Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): It was the kids that drove the politics. Parents of lower income children weren't going to get a tax credit. Parents with higher incomes were. How, asked the Democrats over and over, how could that possibly be fair?

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Across the board, this administration is waging war on poor children.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two children, could you pick one over the other? Is one more special than another?

SNOW: TV ads were to start running Friday.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), CALIFORNIA: We are determined to make this issue too hot for the Republicans to handle.

SNOW: And it was. Senate Republicans felt the heat and found a way out.

SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: I'm not here to in any way suggest what went right, what went wrong. My understanding is there's a reconciliation of viewpoints now.

SNOW: The fix sends $400 checks to the families of 12 million children who make between about $11,000 and $27,000 a year, including about one million children of military parents or veterans. Another change would make sure married and single parents are treated equally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ayes are 94; the nays are 2. The amendment is agreed to.

SNOW: All but two Republicans in the Senate went for the change. Conservatives in the House will, too, and then some. If Democrats insist on adding spending to a tax bill they once said was too big, Republicans say they'll push for even more.

REP. TOM DELAY (R-TX), MAJORITY LEADER: I'd remind just remind the members of this House that we have now almost $1 trillion left in the budget to do more tax relief for the American people and you know what? We're coming back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: Instead of just changing the child tax credit provision in the House bill, what House Republicans are talking about doing, Leon, is actually even more. They're talking about extending, making almost permanent -- when they say permanent up here on Capitol Hill, they mean for maybe ten years -- the child tax credit increase. That would cost about ten times what they did in the Senate yesterday and Leon, as you know, the House and the Senate have to agree because this thing will ever become law.

HARRIS: Yes, and it's hard to see the Senate rolling over on that one and taking that one sitting down.

But there's also this other topic about prescription drug coverage. I mean, for years that idea has been kicked around there in Washington, but are we getting any closer actually, Kate, to seeing any action on that?

SNOW: I think we are getting closer and here's why. Yesterday in the Senate, a kind of a key agreement was made between the two top dogs, the top senators on the Finance Committee, a Democrat and a Republican: Chuck Grassley, the Republican, Max Baucus, the Democrat, with the support of Senator Ted Kennedy, the big Democrat.

This plan that they're talking about in the Senate would offer prescription drug coverage to people on Medicare, also people who want to choose to go to a more private kind of plan. That's something the White House has been pushing for.

It's very hard to explain it, really, in a quick way, Leon, but basically a $35 a month payment by seniors beginning in 2006. They could have a $275 deductible and then they would get some coverage for prescription drugs, half of their cost up to $3,450. No coverage, then, for a little while and then when they reach another level, they would get 90 percent of it paid for by the government.

So Leon, they're looking at it in the Senate. They're saying this has a real good chance of passing the Senate because of the agreement of these key senators. Unclear, though, what's going to happen in the House. The House has not yet unveiled their prescription drug package but expect all this to heat up now as we reach into the summer, before we go to the July 4 recess -- Leon.

HARRIS: All right. Good deal. Thanks, Kate. Kate Snow in Capitol Hill. Have a good weekend, Kate.

SNOW: You, too.

HARRIS: We'll see you later.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com