WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – A group of Democrats on Capitol Hill is calling for Congress to pass an expanded child tax credit, after the payments to parents expired in 2021.
“Do we prioritize our babies or our billionaires?” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NY) asked.
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet’s bill would make permanent what previously was a pandemic-era policy.
“We cut America’s childhood poverty in half. As a result, It was the most significant reduction in childhood poverty in our nation’s history,” Bennet said.
Bennet’s bill would increase the credit from $2,000 per child to $3,600 for children ages 6-17, and $4,320 for children under 6. Future credit increases would be tied to inflation. It also provides a “baby bonus” of $2,400 when a child is born.
“The child tax credit is virtually essential to making America the kind of place we’ve always wanted it to be,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
Those lawmakers are also pushing to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, which would go to working Americans without children.
“There are currently six million hardworking Americans who don’t earn enough to support themselves, and whose taxes are forcing them below the poverty line,” Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) said.
Nevada Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would roughly triple the value of the Earned Income Tax Credit to $1,500 and extend the ages of who’s eligible to receive it.
“More working Americans need a tax break, and that’s what this legislation does,” Cortez Masto said.
Republicans in Congress are working on their own tax policy. They’re trying to extend the President’s tax cuts and slash spending.
“We are trying to root out waste, fraud and abuse,” Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C) said.
