Fact #33: Chris Smith Voted Against Tax Rebates for Military Families

"Military families have made tremendous sacrifices for our nation, but Chris Smith voted against basic tax credits for the neediest military families. Voters deserve to know why."

(Bordentown, NJ)-Chris Smith says that he wants to run on his record in Congress. Unfortunately, there are parts of his record that voters may find less than appealing.

Over the 35 weeks before Election Day we are counting down the 35 facts Chris Smith doesn't want you to know about his record. We'll be compiling these facts on our website, http://chrissmithfacts.blogspot.com/. 

This is the third week of our countdown.

Chris Smith voted against expanding the child tax credit to 250,000 low income military families. Nearly one in five children of active-duty U.S. military families would have benefited from the proposed tax credit. Military families would have received an immediate check for $400 per child and a $1,000 tax credit per child each year. [Vote #275 6/12/2003, Vote #370 7/16/03, USA Today 6/4/2003]

According to research, many military families face difficult financial challenges. Over 20% of military families report having received WIC aid or food stamps from the government. Additional tax rebates would have helped our military families get by while their loved ones were serving overseas. [Washington Post/Kaiser Foundation Military Families Survey March 2004]

Of course, nothing stopped Chris Smith from voting to raise his own pay by $32,600. [CRS: Salaries of Members of Congress Updated January 8, 2008; 1999 Vote #300; 2000 Vote #419; 2001 House Vote #267; 2002 House Vote #322; 2003 House Vote #463; 2004 House Vote #451; 2005 House Vote #327; 2006 vote #261; 2007 Vote #580]

"Before veterans are veterans, they are servicemen and servicewomen. Military families have made tremendous sacrifices for our nation, but Chris Smith voted against basic tax credits for the neediest military families. Voters deserve to know why." said Josh Zeitz campaign manager Steve D'Amico.

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