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2005 Ron Paul Chapter 80
Not linked on Ron Paul’s Congressional website.
Congressional Record [.PDF]
Introducing The Child Health Care Affordability Act
27 June 2005
HON. RON PAUL
OF TEXAS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Monday, June 27, 2005
2005 Ron Paul 80:1
Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to help working Americans provide for their children’s
health care needs by introducing the
Child Health Care Affordability Act. The Child
Health Care Affordability Act provides parents
with a tax credit of up to $500 for health care
expenses of dependent children. Parents caring
for a child with a disability, terminal disease,
cancer, or any other health condition requiring
specialized care would receive a tax
credit of up to $3,000 to help cover their
child’s health care expenses.
2005 Ron Paul 80:2
The tax credit would be available to all citizens, regardless of whether or not they
itemize their deductions. The credit applies
against both income and payroll tax liability.
The tax credits provided in this bill will be especially
helpful to those Americans whose employers
cannot afford to provide health insurance
for their employees. These workers must
struggle to meet the medical bills of themselves
and their families. This burden is especially
heavy on parents whose children have a
medical condition; such as cancer or a physical
disability that requires long-term or specialized
health care.
2005 Ron Paul 80:3
As an OB–GYN who has had the privilege of delivering more than four thousand babies,
I know how important it is that parents have
the resources to provide adequate health care
for their children. The inability of many working
Americans to provide health care for their children
is rooted in one of the great inequities of
the tax code — Congress’ failure to allow individuals
the same ability to deduct health care
costs that it grants to businesses. As a direct
result of Congress’ refusal to provide individuals
with health care related tax credits, parents
whose employers do not provide health
insurance have to struggle to provide health
care for their children. Many of these parents
work in low-income jobs; oftentimes, their only
recourse for health care is the local emergency
room.
2005 Ron Paul 80:4
Sometimes parents are forced to delay seeking care for their children until minor
health concerns that could have been easily
treated become serious problems requiring expensive
treatment! If these parents had access
to the type of tax credits provided in the
Child Health Care Affordability Act, they would
be better able to provide care for their children,
and our nation’s already overcrowded
emergency rooms would be relieved of the
burden of having to provide routine care for
people who otherwise cannot afford it.
2005 Ron Paul 80:5
According to research on the effects of this bill done by my staff and legislative counsel,
the benefit of these tax credits would begin to
be felt by joint filers with incomes slightly
above $18,000 per year, or single income filers
with incomes slightly above $15,000 per
year. Clearly, this bill will be of the most benefit
to low-income Americans balancing the
demands of taxation with the needs of their
children.
2005 Ron Paul 80:6
Under the Child Health Care Affordability Act, a struggling singling mother with an asthmatic
child would at last be able to provide for
her child’s needs, while a working-class family
will not have to worry about how they will pay
the bills if one of their children requires
lengthy hospitalization or some other form of
specialized care.
2005 Ron Paul 80:7
Mr. Speaker, this Congress has a moral responsibility to provide tax relief so that low-income
parents struggling to care for a sick
child can better meet their child’s medical expenses.
Some may say that we cannot enact
the Child Health Care Affordability Act because
it would cause the government to lose
revenue. But, who is more deserving of this
money, Congress or the working parents of a
sick child?
2005 Ron Paul 80:8
The Child Health Care Affordability Act takes a major step toward helping working
Americans meet their health care needs by
providing them with generous health care related
tax cuts and tax credits. I urge my colleagues
to support the pro-family, pro-health
care tax cuts contained in the Child Health
Care Affordability Act.
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