Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (4th C.D.) recently joined other members of the Long Island Congressional Delegation to conduct a hearing on the effects of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) decision to change Long Island's status as an identity of its own. Below is a summary of her remarks:

"OMB's decision to change Long Island's MSA Designation poses a serious threat to the island's ability to obtain federal dollars and to our community's identity. I understand that OMB is redefining the terms it uses to gather data from specific regions of the country, but it is OMB's responsibility to educate federal agencies that this change has taken place.

"That is why I strongly support Senator Clinton's call for OMB to issue a directive to all federal departments and agencies to ensure Long Island and other regions of the country are not overlooked out of ignorance of OMB's new terminology. I also believe the Long Island Congressional Delegation has a responsibility to work on getting federal agencies to change their policies as well.

"Earlier this week, I drafted a letter to HUD Secretary Mel Martinez asking that he ensure that Long Islanders receiving federal housing dollars are not negatively affected by OMB's policy change. I hope my colleagues in the House and New York's two Senators will join me in signing on to this letter.

"I plan on sending similar letters to other Department Secretaries and agency heads whose programs continue to use the MSA designations to distribute funds. I agree the most pragmatic and effective decision is for OMB to reverse its initial decision regarding Long Island's status.

"But in case that decision cannot be reversed, we need to make sure OMB and the White House issue and enforce this directive that will ensure Long Islanders are not deprived of the federal funding they are entitled."

Three weeks ago, President Bush signed into law a $350 billion economic "stimulus" plan that included an increase in the child tax credit for middle-income families from the current $600 per child to $1,000. This additional credit was made retroactive to last year allowing these families to receive a $400 per child refund check later this summer.

I supported increasing this tax credit, but was disappointed to learn the families of some 12 million children with incomes between $10,000 and $26,000 will not qualify for this added tax break, including nearly 50,000 families on Long Island. The House Republican leadership claims since these families do not earn enough under current law to pay income taxes, they do not deserve a tax credit for their children. These families do, however, pay taxes. They pay Medicare and Social Security payroll taxes, federal excise taxes, federal gasoline taxes, property taxes on homes where their children live and sales tax on the food their children eat and clothes they wear. Yet, the Republican leadership decided these families did not deserve the same tax benefit as most everyone else.

After much outrage, the Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation to fix this inequity. Their bill included offsets to make the measure budget neutral. In addition to providing these families the tax relief they deserve, the proposal also assures that families of military personnel stationed abroad in combat zones would be eligible for the credit.

Had the Senate bill been brought before the House, it would have passed overwhelmingly and signed by the President immediately. But in this case, commonsense and doing the right thing took a back seat to politics. What could have been a responsible act was sabotaged by the House Republican leadership.

Rather than acting on the nearly $10 billion Senate-passed bill, the Republican leadership replaced it with an $82 billion red herring they knew would ultimately be rejected. While the larger measure passed the more conservative House, it is unlikely to make headway in the Senate, where budget conscious Republican moderates will not support a measure with such a hefty price tag. It also removes the Senate provision to help military families of those soldiers serving in the Middle East.

With these changes, it is now doubtful this legislation will ever make it to the President's desk, which is exactly what the House Republican leadership wanted. President Bush needs to get off the sidelines and call upon the House Republicans to pass the sensible and fiscally responsible Senate child tax credit bill. Twelve million children should not be ignored and denied help by the Bush administration or the United States Congress.