Press Releases

WASHINGTON - One million children living in military and veteran families are being denied child tax credit help by the recently enacted massive tax cut package tilted toward the rich, according to an analysis released today by the Children's Defense Fund. More than 260,000 of these children have parents on active military duty. House and Senate leaders at the last minute dropped a provision with the approval of the Bush Administration that would have provided military families with children an additional $151 on average per child. The new tax cut law provides each of America's 190,000 millionaires $93,500 on average.

Children's Defense Fund President Marian Wright Edelman said it is profoundly unjust to ask our soldiers to defend our nation abroad while abandoning their children and families at home.

"This horrible wrong should be corrected immediately. We don't have a money problem in America, we have a values and priorities problem," said Edelman. "The urgent needs of children and hard working military and civilian families should come ahead of millionaires and billionaires."

The eliminated child tax credit provision, originally introduced in the Senate by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), would have helped 12 million children in working families who urgently need help now when there is an economic downturn.

One in four American children—including nearly half of all Black and Latino children—receive nothing from the entire tax law because their hard working parents earn too little. The stock dividend tax cut, the centerpiece of the Bush Administration's plan, provides nothing to more than nine out of 10 Latino and Black children and seven out of 10 White children, because their families receive no stock dividends.

A fraction of the entire tax package's cost is enough to provide comprehensive health coverage for all 9.2 million uninsured American children and Head Start's comprehensive services for all 1.8 million children that need it to enter school ready to learn.

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Background Information:

• Tax Cut Backgrounder (Adobe PDF : 2 pages : 96KB)
• Military Children Backgrounder (Adobe PDF : 1 page : 85KB)

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The mission of the Children's Defense Fund is to Leave No Child Behind and to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. CDF provides a strong, effective voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby, or speak for themselves. We pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minority children and those with disabilities. CDF educates the nation about the needs of children and encourages preventive investment before they get sick, into trouble, drop out of school, or suffer family breakdown. CDF began in 1973 and is a private, nonprofit organization supported by foundation and corporate grants and individual donations. We have never taken government funds.