Article

By Alan K. Ota

House Republicans will move the debate over the child migrant crisis into tax territory this week by calling for new action to stop alleged tax fraud by low-income families, including undocumented aliens.

Senior Republicans said they will push for a requirement for taxpayers applying for the refundable child tax credit to provide a Social Security number. They said the provision would be folded into a proposal (HR 4935) by Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., for a permanent extension of a more generous child tax credit that is coming to the floor this week.

Tax revenue has been “bled out of here” by fraudulent tax claims, said House Rules Chairman Pete Sessions of Texas. “We need it for the integrity of the system. It's a tax compliance issue,” Sessions said.

Republican aides said the version of the Jenkins bill coming to a vote would include an abridged version of a proposal (HR 556) by Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, to require a taxpayer to provide at least one Social Security number "of either spouse" in order to meet the identification requirement for the refundable child tax credit.

Supporters say the Johnson language would raise $24.5 billion over 10 years and help to prevent undocumented aliens from trying to claim child-related tax benefits through the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury.

Johnson and other supporters also make the case for tougher guards against tax fraud as part of a broader push for immigration and law enforcement measures to help deter a wave of undocumented child migrants in Southern border states.

"In light of the border crisis, my effort to stop fraud and abuse of the refundable child tax credit is more critical than ever,” Johnson said. “As tens of thousands of individuals surge over the southern border, it is just not right that struggling American families should have billions of their hard-earned taxpayer dollars be handed out by the IRS to illegal immigrants,” Johnson said.  

“Enough is enough," Johnson said.

Democrats have rejected GOP calls for the tougher enforcement of identification standards for federal entitlement programs before, including this year when Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., offered the plan as an offset for a proposed extension of emergency unemployment benefits. Ayotte’s amendment would have eliminated tax credits for the children of undocumented immigrants, many of whom are American citizens.

Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva of New Mexico, co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, charged that Johnson and his allies were taking advantage of the border crisis to promote undue restrictions on tax benefits. "The migrant kids crisis has become a convenient vehicle for Republicans to try to slap on other things that would not pass stand-alone. It would not stand a chance if we were not in the throngs of this other thing," Grijalva said.

He and other Democrats say the requirement for Social Security numbers would limit access to needed tax benefits for poor families. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va, said he was concerned that low-income taxpayers would lose out on benefits they had earned. 

The Jenkins bill does not include another provision in the original Johnson bill that would have required tax preparers to fill out a form and meet diligence requirements if they worked on tax returns that claimed the refundable tax credit.  

The underlying Jenkins bill would index the $1,000 child tax credit for inflation and end the so-called marriage penalty by setting the phaseout threshold for reduced benefits for joint filers at double the $75,000 income ceiling for single taxpayers.  

An education tax break proposal (HR 3393)  by Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., is also on the schedule this week and includes a similar requirement for a taxpayer to provide a student's Social Security number when claiming American Opportunity Tax Credit for tuition and other expenses. The bill would provide a permanent extension of the AOTC and provide for a $2,500 maximum tax credit, and a $1,500 maximum refundable tax credit, while eliminating other tax credits and write-offs for tuition and fees.

Click here for Congressman Johnson’s release on preventing fraud and protecting taxpayer dollars.

# # #