Shes fought and i know because i fought alongside her for part of that time for raising the minimum wage, giving employees access to sick days and allowing workers to take family and medical leave. Shes been passionate on issues of equal pay for equal work. Shes been fighting recently tooth and nail to protect the aca for fair trade. I will tell you some of you may not know about rosa is if she has your cell phone number, shell call you. Nutrition and ge getting to the point to have days conversation, shes been working on this issue of child allowance or at least fully refundable tax credit which is pretty equivalent for many years. She is not a newcomer to this debate. And, in fact, people may not know this. Its a great little trivia point for those in the child allowance world is that thanks to rosa the Congress Actually voted on an amendment in 2003. Im old enough to remember on a fully refundable Child Tax Credit and the amendment failed. But that was the only time to my knowledge that our Congress Even voted on a child allowance. And she currently has legislation that i recall that creates a fully refundable plan with a speed limit for kids and all children under three with incomes up to the Child Tax Credit. And there is analysis at the center on budget. That would lift eight Million People including two million kids under age three above or closer to the poverty line shechlt walks the walk and talks the talk. Thank you very much, jarrod. What you didnt say is that when i do ring the number, you answer the phone. And youre always there. So i much appreciative of that. And i often have to say im not stalking you but please, i need your help in this effort. I think what i want to say is, maybe i shouldnt say this to start out with is that i voted 1996. On the welfare bill. And i will just tell that you i voted against it and it is one of the proudest votes i cast in the house of representatives. Thats record is out. There jarrod, i thank you again for moderating this discussion. And i want to thank you for the great work that you do. And really one of the foremost thoughts and leaders on Economic Policy that in fact do improve the lives of working americans. I also want to recognize ron haskin and jane. It is Ground Breaking work on this topic. And paved the way for so many of the xlen excellent conversation thats were held today. They provide a constructive frame for members of congress. To approach the issue of universal child allowance or the expansion of Child Tax Credit. And im sure that it has been a productive and a thought provoking day. And im grateful to have the opportunity to be able to speak with you. I believe jane mentioned that todays conference is a sitting book end to a similar conference that was held 50 years ago. In 1967, the Colombia University school of social work held a childrens allowances conference. It convened experts and social welfare and economic with policymakers to ensure the issue of child allowances were given and i quote, serious review at this time. This should drive the point home. That is not a new or a novel idea. Far from it. Weve been having this conversation in some form or another for 50 years at least. In 1991, senator Jay Rockefeller chaired a Bipartisan Commission on child and family policy. Which explored a fully refundable tax credit. In fact, it was on may 1st in 1991, exactly 26 years ago that the commission unanimously approved a proposal which included a fully refundable Child Tax Credit of 1,000 in 1991. And we have folks in the audience here today, people who work as staff on both sides of the aisle on that commission. So the goal of this conference are not new. But we do have the benefits the day of drawing from new and Compelling Research from our credentials on both the economic and health side of this crisis. Their work makes clear we need to invest in our youngest citizens. This is the key to reducing Child Poverty. Which is a critical commitment to working families and to our values. Our economy is more competitive when every child is empowered to meet his or her full potential. Other countries are doing far more to help working families. And the results speak for themselves. Among the 35 industrialized nations, the u. S. Ranks 34th in relative Child Poverty. This betrays our social priorities and values. Universal child allowances are a reality in all other industrialized nations. But not in the United States. Around the world, the benefits are delivered monthly to families to help cover recurring costs. Austria, canada, france, germany. Fox wrote that a murderer row of poverty experts including many people in this room had proposed a child allowance as an ynt a poverty measure. Murderers row, of course, some baseball fans will know this the new york yankees. The starting lineup in the 1920s, particularly 1927. They had star players. It is a fitting analogy for the scholars and the experts that we have working on this issue. I apologize to you said rochl fans for this. But seriously, we have a moral obligation. We is a moral obligation to elevate this issue. And to fight Child Poverty. En that brings to mind a quote from robert kennedy. Which i think is very fitting. I believe that as long as there is plenty, poverty is evil. Government belongs wherever evil needs an adversary. And there are people in distress who cannot help themselves. According to research at columbia University School of social work, 56 of children are low income as compared to 43 of adults 18 through 64. Families with Young Children bear the heaviest burden, infants and toddlers are among the poorest members of American Society with almost half living in low income families. And while families across the board have been facing a financial squeeze, child related costs have skyrocketed in recent years. The cost of childcare, the cost of education, the cost of housing, the cost of health care. For numerous reasons, for lack of government funding to insufficient daycare staffing, in fact, child related cause represents 70 of the rising costs associated with the pillars of middle class economic security. We have an obligation to help households cope with the rising costs, especially as wages fail to rise with them. Economists found families with Young Children receive the smallest tax credit. Poor, Young Children are nearly 50 more likely to be ineligible for the full Child Tax Credit than older children. Because their families are too little. This was countered to what we know from child develop ment experts and economists. On the importance of cash in the early years. A mountage of literature that supports the notion that these families are the ones who would reap the most benefits. The council of economic advisors estimate thats kbinld local state and federal and annual expenditure in 2015 was 63 higher per child for children between the ages of 6 and 11. Versus those who are ages 3 to 5. Our existing policies leave significant gaps during the first years of a childs life. We need to focus our efforts on supporting families and children in the first years of life. Study after study has shown the dire consequence thats poverty can have on a childs future. Children grow up who are more likely to drop out of school. Experience health problems. Become involved in the criminal Justice System and live their adulthoods in poverty. When we invest in Early Childhood develop ment, we can turn those trends around. The Child Tax Credit was created in 1997 to help working families avoid the expenses related to children. Together the tax credit and the earned income tax credit left more children out of poverty than any other federal policy. The child kachl credit is responsible for lifting 2. 8 Million People out of poverty including 1. 6 million children. Their analysis of the supplemental poverty measure. We made Great Strides recently with the expansion of the eitc and the Child Tax Credit. But if we index the credit to inflation, we could support more families. We could support more children. You know, we have managed at the federal level to end the estate tax for the wealthiest americans in this country. But we have left out our children. And because the benefits of the Child Tax Credit are based on earnings, we leave behind many of our youngest children who are the most likely to be living in families that are too poor to receive the full credit. We have the evidence. Now we need to align the science with the need and enact the appropriate Public Policy initiative and have the will to do it. Which is why i have proposed the Child Tax Credit improvement act. I dont know what this number is on the act. For families are Young Children under the age of six. The 3600. It would look to distribute the credit in regular monthly payments. It has earnings requirement and no phase in and its fully refundable. The bill would improve the Child Tax Credit for older children as well. By allowing every dollar of earnings to count towards the credit, to triple the fate in rate to allow low income working families to be able to receive full credit. The bill would finally index the value of the Child Tax Credit legislation, keeping the credit value from continuing to erode over time. This is a universal credit which is critical for the families with the most needs. Where a parent may be staying home or maybe out of work. You know, there are proposals on the other side of the aisle as well. But with some of them, they only apply to working parents. This credit would give more parents an economic boost during the childs Critical Development years, a time when parental incomes tend to be lower. Cost of child bearing tends to be higher. And Family Income matters most for kids for their long term outcomes. Giving families with younger chrn a larger credit would be more Cost Effective and lift a larger percentage of children out of poverty than simply expanding the Child Tax Credit. And americans pediatricians call the idea a dose of economic protection for children and said that healthy economics may be one of best remedies of all for children and babies across our country. These changes have a profound effect on families living in deep poverty. In 2011, 4 of u. S. Households were living on 2 in cash income per day. You heard in kathy this afternoon. Her book was lou shaver is here today as well as one of the proposers offer. Living on almost nothing in america should be required reading for all policymakers. For these families, living in deep poverty, the current tax system does little to assist them because of income special. The Child Tax Credit improvement agent would benefit these families enormously. In fact, it would end 2 a day poverty among families with Young Children. If were serious about reducing the poverty, and giving every child an opportunity to succeed, we need a child allowance or the tax credit that is fully refundable and larger than the existing tax credit. That is why the Child Tax Credit improvement act focuses on the investment of families with the youngest children, children under age 6. Because they have the greatest need. These benefits are particularly critical to rural families according to the United States department of agriculture. Theyre paid for on federal tax policies and low income rural households. This is because children are rural areas are poorer on average. And they are further away from other services. The panel you held today on why Money Matters highlighted why cash has an outside positive impact on these families. The proposal that i introduce wod also help parents who stay at home, those with erratic Work Schedules and parents who need flexibility most. Who are left out of some of the republican plan that excludes the poorest families. Our childrens future is our collective responsibility. But providing children with the resources they need to succeed is not just a moral obligation. It is an economic imperative. This is a rare moment where we have a real opportunity to translate scientific and economic evidence into policy that positively impacts the lives of people that are actually living today. There is a bipartisan interest in this policy in the congress today. There are republican poe posals to expand the Child Tax Credit. Marco rubio, mike lee and there is a history of bipartisan support for these kind of credits. The Child Tax Credit would introduce in the republican contract with america in 1994. And first became law under a democratic president bill clinton. And a gop congress in 1997. If you look at the history of is is the earned income tax credit, did it have support from democrats and republicans . And now there are many conversations taking place about taxes, surely, surely there can be and should be room for our youngest and most Vulnerable Children and families to be included. Last week the Trump Administration rolled out an outline of their tax proposals. And while it is not fully flushed out, it is clear okay. That his proposal will not help families with the most need. The biggest challenge that faces our country is that people are in jobs that just dont pay enough money. Families do not make enough money to live on. All of our policies should share the goal of reducing the burden on working families. And investing in the future. Again, the policies have bipartisan interest and the path when this country has faced serious issues, we have come together in a bipartisan fashion. And we now have the evidence to make our case. This fight is different than others. Because the biggest obstacle has not been lies or obstructionism but it has been different for the tn of children. And particularly poor children. And its enough. The time has come for tax credits that helped families with Young Children. Because it is long overdue. We need to do it. Your engagement, everyone in this room and the policy making and in the legislative process is imperative. Dont stop at the door of the policy. Understand that it goes nowhere unless there is a legislative process that makes it operational. So i look forward to your participation. I look forward to our discussion. And thank you for allowing me to be here. Okay. While youre getting miked up, by the way, im sorry im not appropriately dressed. I had a car incident this morning. Severing okay. But i drive an american car, by the way. I want to focus on politics for a while. We talk a lot about policy. We talk about elasticity and parameters. I dont want to be sitting here and i know you dont either 26 years from now and having a similar discussion. What needs to happen for us to get this child allowance idea out of the think tanks, out of the conferences and into legislation that has real legs . Let me just say, before you answer, it feels to me like the politics and you tlif every day, but i am a visitor of this town, it feels to me the politics are going the wrong way. It is. It is political will to turn this around. I go back to something i said. Someone got up and talked about they were a American Group that is represented here. You take a look at some of the policies that weve had of today. When people like George Mcgovern and bob dole got together and kennedy and leahy and jabbot, et cetera, these are folks who understood that we had a national problem. And this was related to nutrition and hunger in the United States. So they came together and they said what direction will this nation take . As we move forward . Because it is a singular critical issue for us to focus on. And we do have school lunch programs. We do have a whip program. We have i continue to learn about programs. But nevertheless there were people who believe that the problem was so grave that we had to do something and they understood the reason why they came to the congress which was to be able to put partisan clicks aside but to focus on the issue. Okay. That being said, i mentioned in my remarks the earned income tax credit. It if you take a look at the years in which the eitc when it began, i guess it was in 75. It was expanded over the years, if you look at that under what administration they occurred, they were democrat and they were republican. Who felt that this was a way to get people out of poverty. Let me interjekt here. I dont want to stop you. But let me interject. The connection between eitc and work, is of course, at the core of the political success that youre stressing. By taking that connection out on the child allowance, do we cut political legs november that respect . I dont think so. I think that someone said it earlier. You know, look, my focus is on the Child Tax Credit as well. I talk about it. Newt gingrich proposed it in the contract for america and bill clinton signed it. But children should not have to be penalized for once their circumstances are are of their household. And the cr