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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett) for 5 minutes.
Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, last week, the Ways and Means Committee on which I sit, along with numerous other committees in this House, moved forward toward completing our work to achieve President Biden's and the American people's vision to build back better.
The legislation contains economic development initiatives that I have long championed to create good-paying jobs, while lowering costs and cutting taxes for American families, not American wealthy. This is the kind of legislation that makes America great. This is the kind of legislation that assures the American people that we have not abandoned them in their time of need. To remain the greatest Nation, we must support the most vulnerable portion of America.
Importantly, for my district, this bill contains specific measures for the much-needed economic recovery of the U.S. territories, which have been severely tried in recent years. It fixes longstanding fiscal cliffs related to rebate on Federal excise taxes on distilled spirits production in the territories, our rum cover over. The cover over has been a part of the fundamental tax relationship between the United States and its island territories before there was even an income tax. This bill would repeal the cap that has been imposed on the program since 1984.
In addition, we are continuing to expand the federally funded Child Tax Credit, including reimbursing the Islands' government who pay out the costs for providing the credit. The credit, as expanded in the American Rescue Plan, would be continued for additional 4 years.
This child tax cut has cut child poverty by 50 percent, 50 percent. Cutting child poverty by the child tax cut makes economic sense.
Under the Annie E. Casey Foundation study, America has lost $500 billion a year in lost production due to children who have lived in poverty most of their life because of hunger, leading to loss of jobs, school dropouts, prison, all of these things will now have a way for these children to come out.
Furthermore, we are extending the changes made to the Earned Income Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan. We increase the value of the Earned Income Tax Credit for workers with no qualifying dependents, and we do that on a permanent basis in Build Back Better.
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In addition, we are providing lookback provisions that are necessary for individuals. This important part of the earned income tax credit is premised on the idea that if a taxpayer's earned income was less in a given year than it is in the prior year, the taxpayer may elect to use their prior year's earned income in computing the EITC. That is, this is a 1-year lookback. This will provide stability to taxpayers who have experienced economic shocks in any given year, the same way we do for businesses.
This legislation provides much-needed relief to the U.S. territories from the GILTI tax that was supposed to apply to foreign jurisdictions. Since 2017, there have been significant concerns about the application of the GILTI tax to sovereign territories of the United States, including the U.S. Virgin Islands as well as the other territories, flowing from the treatment of U.S. territories under the Internal Revenue Code.
I am pleased to see the additional accommodations to smaller-sized businesses and the economic activity that will allow jobs and incomes to flourish. For these employers, the possessions wage credit would be increased from 20 percent to 50 percent of eligible possessions wages and allocable fringe benefits for each employee. With these enhanced credits, the Ways and Means Committee acted to provide relief to service-based economies.
I am also excited about the proactive support for disaster resilience. We are providing tools to mitigate the impact of natural disasters by providing incentives for upfront investments.
We are providing strong incentives to attract capital and promote jobs in communities that need it the most, significant resources for rural areas, Tribal communities, and underserved minority communities.
We have affordable housing to help reduce housing inequality and pathways to homeownership, which is about wealth creation in this country.
Democrats have heard the needs and desires of the American people, all American people--Democrats, Republicans, independents, rural, urban, small town, islands even. We are here to help you.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 164
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