Did you write your Congressman regarding The Making Adoption Affordable Act. H.R. 4373?? Sarah did and below is what Adam Smith had to say in response to her contact.
December
21,
2012
Mrs.
Sarah
Rawls
Steilacoom,
Washington
98388
Dear Sarah,
Thank
you
for
contacting
me
regarding
H.R.
4373,
the
Making
Adoption
Affordable
Act.
I
appreciate
hearing
your
thoughts
on
this
important
issue
and
I
value
this
opportunity
to
respond.
I
support
adoption
and
making
it
easier
for
families
to
bring
children
into
a
safe
and
nurturing
environment.
I
have
been
a
long
supporter
of
legislation
that
supports
families
that
seek
to
adopt
and
creates
a
smooth
transition
and
a
promising
future
for
adopted
children.
As
you
may
know,
the
federal
government
provides
assistance
for
the
adoption
of
children
through
federal
grants
to
states
and
through
tax
expenditures
for
families.
Although
federal
assistance
programs
for
adoption
focus
primarily
on
children
adopted
out
of
Foster
Care,
federal
adoption
tax
provisions
are
available
for
all
adoptions
(except
for
adoptions
of
stepchildren).
Congress
created
federal
tax
assistance
for
adoption
by
enacting
the
Small
Business
and
Job
Protection
Act
of
1996.
The
Act
added
tax
incentives
for
adoption
to
the
existing
federal
adoption
assistance
grant
programs
by
creating
a
tax
credit
and
an
income
tax
exclusion
of
up
to
$5,000
per
adoption
and
$6,000
per
adoption
of
a
special
needs
child.
The
Economic
Growth
and
Tax
Relief
Reconciliation
Act
(EGTRRA)
of
2001
provided
an
increase
in
qualified
expenses
for
the
credit
and
the
income
tax
exclusion
to
$10,000
(indexed
for
inflation),
but
with
a
sunset
period.
Beginning
in
2011,
the
prior
law
limits
of
$5,000
and
$6,000
became
effective
again
unless
extended
in
new
legislation.
For
tax
years
2010
and
2011,
The
Patient
Protection
and
Affordable
Care
Act
(PPACA)
made
the
adoption
tax
credit
refundable.
The
Affordable
Care
Act
also
increased
the
qualified
expenses
for
the
adoption
tax
credit
and
the
income
tax
exclusion
for
employer
provided
adoption
assistance
to
$13,170
for
tax
year
2010,
with
this
amount
indexed
for
inflation
in
2011.
The
Tax
Relief,
Unemployment
Insurance
Reauthorization,
and
Job
Creation
Act
of
2010
extended
the
EGTRRA
provisions
for
adoption
to
tax
year
2012.
Unless
EGTRRA
is
extended,
prior
tax
exclusion
limits
of
$5,000
and
$6,000
will
take
effect
beginning
in
tax
year
2013.
The
tax
credit
and
the
income
tax
exclusion
significantly
limit
who
may
benefit
from
the
tax
provisions.
Both
provisions
are
subject
to
a
phase-out
rule,
which
creates
an
income
cap,
and
puts
in
place
a
minimum
income
level
on
the
use
of
the
tax
credit.
These
provisions
limit
the
number
of
taxpayers
who
benefit
from
the
credit.
As
a
result,
in
tax
year
2008,
very
few
families
with
an
adjusted
gross
income
of
less
than
$30,000,
or
with
an
adjusted
gross
income
of
$200,000
or
more,
claimed
the
credit.
In
tax
year
2008,
approximately
86,600
tax
returns,
or
06%
of
all
tax
returns,
included
a
claim
for
the
adoption
tax
credit,
with
a
total
credit
value
claimed
of
$353.5
million.
Thank
you
for
calling
my
attention
to
H.R.
4373,
The
Making
Adoption
Affordable
Act.
H.R.
4373
was
introduced
by
Representative
Bruce
Braley
on
April
7,
2012.
This
legislation
seeks
to
support
families
that
wish
to
adopt
by
providing
tax
credit
for
adoption
expenses
increasing
exclusion
from
gross
income
for
amounts
paid
by
an
employer
for
adoption
expenses
that
were
enacted
by
the
Patient
Protection
and
Affordable
Care
Act.
H.R.
4373
is
currently
pending
with
the
House
Committee
on
Ways
and
Means.
I
look
forward
to
reviewing
this
legislation.
Should
this
or
any
other
bill
concerning
adoption
come
to
the
House
floor
for
consideration,
please
be
assured
I
will
keep
your
support
in
mind.
Please
feel
free
to
contact
me
at
any
time
should
you
have
further
questions
or
concerns
on
this
or
any
other
issue.
