WASHINGTON, DC - After Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) introduced an amendment to S. 1963, the Military Retirement Pay bill, Rocio Saenz, Executive Vice President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement:

"Eliminating access to the Alternative Child Tax Credit for millions of low-income families would have a devastating impact on the very population the policy is designed to protect - children. This divisive, mean-spirited and short-sighted amendment would literally take food from the mouths of millions of poor immigrant children by raising taxes on their families. It represents an attack on some of the most powerless and vulnerable in our society - immigrant children. Immigration and the treatment of immigrant children should be dealt with comprehensively, not in an ill-thought out amendment to a bill dealing with a completely unrelated issue.

"Congress must preserve the Alternative Child Tax Credit to prevent millions of families from slipping further into poverty. This is about our nation's children - the future workforce of our country. We will be watching to see who stands with working people and we will hold accountable those lawmakers who support sacrificing the most vulnerable in our society.

"Any and all necessary measures should be used to defeat this cruel amendment."

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