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| At the bottom of this page
is an example of how to do a write-up of a news headline as required by
activity #2.3 in the CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
The following news story came from the January 7, 1998 on-line edition of the Orlando Sentinel. The entire article is shown in this example. You are not required to submit the entire article, but you must be sure to include all the requested information. |
| Clinton
would spur better child care with subsidies, tax credits January 7, 1998 8:10 a.m. EST WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a $20 billion effort to help working parents find good child care, President Clinton is proposing increased subsidies and incentives for businesses to pitch in. Among the proposals being unveiled at the White House today was a permanent 25 percent tax credit for employers that establish and run child care facilities for workers, or reserve slots in existing centers, congressional and White House sources said Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. The president also was to propose what one source called ``dramatic expansions'' of both the income tax credit that parents can take for child care expenses and federal contributions to state child care subsidies for low-income parents and welfare recipients entering jobs. Clinton, accompanied by Vice President Al Gore and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, was to detail the package in a splashy East Room ceremony this afternoon. He hoped to set a bipartisan tone, inviting several Republican governors and members of Congress to share in the announcement. Two White House officials would not say how much Clinton would ask Congress to increase the ``child care development block grant'' program to the states that currently reaches 1 million children. Overall, the package of tax credits and subsidies would cost $20 billion over five years, White House officials said. Bruce Reed, the White House domestic policy chief, called it ``a sweeping plan to help parents balance the demands of work and family by making child care more accessible, more affordable and safer.'' Clinton's plan would limit the dependent care tax credit to a family's total tax liability. Only the earned income tax credit aimed at working poor families is refundable, providing them a check from the government if the credit exceeds their tax liability. Advocates have pushed to also make the childcare credit refundable so that poor parents who pay no taxes would get new government subsidies for their child care expenses. Republicans have opposed expanding the welfare aspects of federal tax breaks. |
``If (the administration) really wanted to be helpful, efforts need to be made to get it refundable, otherwise people from low-income jobs and households have much less access,'' said Ellen Galinsky, president of the New York-based Families and Work Institute. The institute has consulted extensively with Mrs. Clinton, who has made child care a priority project. The Senate last year passed a bill by Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., that, for a short term, would have allowed businesses to reduce their federal tax liability by $1 for every $2 they spent on child care for their employees. Although it did not survive negotiations with the House, supporters said the Senate action bodes well for Clinton's smaller but permanent 25 percent tax credit -- $1 off a company's tax bill for every $4 spent on employee child care. The White House also was counting on a boost from this year's election climate, where help for middle-class families would prove popular with many voters. ``I think there is broad bipartisan support in Congress and in statehouses around the country for doing more on child care,'' Reed said. ``It's 1998. I think it is clear there will be real interest in the president's plan.'' Other pieces of the package were announced at the Clintons' White House conference on child care in October. They included: Establishing a scholarship fund to provide $250 million over five years for additional training of up to 50,000 child care providers. The workers, who would get $1,500 each, would have to remain in the field at least a year. Eliminating state barriers to checking criminal backgrounds of child care workers. That plan must be approved by Congress and all 50 states. Legislation enforcing state health and safety standards in federal child care centers. Copyright © 1997 Associated Press. All rights reserved. |
| The
following write-up is what you would need to include for your news article
submission: Clinton would spur better child care with subsidies, tax credits. This news story concerns President Clinton's proposal to change the tax laws so that working parents may find easier access to child care. Under the President's plan, employers who provide child care opportunities for their employees would receive a 25% tax credit. The plan would also extend child care benefits to poor families who pay no taxes. This news story seems to indicate that the President recognizes the importance of having access to quality child care. His proposal demonstrates both a) the government attempting to be responsive to people's needs, and b) promoting the common good for all Americans. This news article depicts macroeconomics issues at work. Government spending and taxation policies are important macroeconomics topics. "Clinton would spur better child care with subsidies, tax credits." Orlando Sentinel ON-LINE 7 January 1998. <http:dynamic.webpoint.com/news/oso/story/0,1024,50004898,00.html> |
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