president, sister simone campbell is somebody who i greatly respect. sister simone campbell is executive director of "network," a national catholic social justice lobby. she is also one of the organizers of nuns on the bus, catholic nuns who have traveled all over the united states speaking out on issues of social justice. she has sent us a statement opposing the ayotte amendment. and it's a lengthy statement. i won't read it all but i do want to read several parts that i think are important. sister simone campbell says, "to set the record straight, children targeted by the ayotte amendment do exist and they do live in the u.s. 4 million of them are u.s. citizens. others are little dreamers, young children brought to this country by their families. under existing tax laws, their families may apply for the child tax credit if they qualify financially. if fraud is suspected, the solution is not to deny all eligible children access to this critical antipoverty program. that is cruel and ineffective." those are the words of sister simone campbell in refere

that's what sister simone campbell is doing. this is what she says further. she says, "senator ayotte says she understands families' needs yet she wants to deny a child tax credit to tax-paying immigrant families. actions speak louder than words and her proposal hurts families. our political leaders should never place poor children in a position of competing with other vulnerable populations for funds and help pay for food and other basic needs. deliberately harming immigrant families goes against the fundamental goodwill of americans, including thousands of people we met last year as our nuns on the bus traveled 6,500 miles across the u.s. to speak for justice. throughout our journey," she writes, "we stood with, prayed with and heard of stories of hundreds of immigrants who have long served the needs of our nation. responsible leaders in congress should look into their hearts and reject proposals like this one. the political tactic is not good for our economy or the well-being of our entire nation, especially children who are the future of our country. we a