Bill would increase credit, distribute monthly
Key members of Congress today introduced a bill that would permanently increase the amount of the Child Tax Credit and deliver it to families monthly, measures that would help children and their families manage the pressure of rising prices for food, rent, and other basic needs.
The American Family Act, introduced today by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) along with more than 200 cosponsors, would offer families a tax credit of up to $4,320 per child for young children and $3,600 for children ages 6-17. The legislation also would allow families to receive the credit monthly — which is how most households pay bills — and would extend it to the 17 million children currently left behind because their parents make too littleto qualify. Similar measures helped lift 3 million children out of poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic and supported families through the financial strain of that emergency. The American Family Act also establishes a “baby bonus,” which could push the total credit to $6,360 in a child’s first year of life.
“The American Family Act delivers relief to America’s struggling children and families,” said Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus Campaign for Children. “The bill’s expanded, monthly Child Tax Credit will help lift children out of poverty and ensure that they have the food, diapers, clothing, education, stable housing and other basics they need to thrive. The bill also eliminates a grievous discrimination against 17 million of America’s babies and children currently left behind because their parents make too little to claim it — a ridiculous and poverty-promoting policy. Many of these children are the ones who need it the most — they are kids whose moms lose income due to having a baby, or have a parent who is sick, disabled, or deceased or has been laid off, or those who have suffered through a natural disaster.
We are grateful to Sen. Bennet, Reps. DeLauro, Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Richie Torres (D-NY), and the other lawmakers who have put these children and all of the nation’s kids first. The American Family Act offers a rare bright spot — and a necessary antidote — to the disastrous cuts Congress has proposed to children’s programs so they can fund more and bigger tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy.”
The improvements made to the Child Tax Credit during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated their ability to lift children out of poverty and also to support families in a way that more closely aligns to their needs and spending habits.
In 2021, the United States cut child poverty nearly in half largely due to improvements to the Child Tax Credit that delivered monthly cash payments to children most in need. The expiration of these improvements — and in particular their reach to the poorest children — has sent millions of children back into poverty and deprived millions more of the basic resources they need to thrive.
The pandemic-era improvements, now applied in the American Family Act, also narrowed the poverty gap between Black and white children, and Hispanic and white children. When these provisions expired, the impact disproportionately hit Black and Hispanic children, as well as young children, children in rural communities, and children in larger families.