Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), and U.S. Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Suzan DelBene (D-WA), today reintroduced the American Family Act of 2019 to overhaul the existing Child Tax Credit and make it a dramatically more effective tool for supporting middle-class families with kids and reducing child poverty. The bill was introduced with 35 original Senate cosponsors and 168 original House cosponsors, indicating a major show of support from across the Democratic Caucus.
The bill would create a new $300 per-month, per-child credit for children under 6 years of age and a $250 per-month, per-child credit for children under 17 years of age—increasing the credit for all children and, for the first time, making the credit fully refundable.
“All across the country, families are working harder than ever but have less and less to show for it,” said Brown. “Our bill would help put more money back in the pockets of working families and set children up for future success.”
“I’ve met with parents across Colorado who tell me the paychecks they bring home aren’t enough to support their families, especially as the costs of child care, health care, housing, and higher education continue to rise,” Bennet said. “That’s because 90 percent of Americans haven’t seen a significant raise over the last 40 years. The American Family Act is a big part of how we respond to that problem, which I see as one of the central economic challenges of our time. This bill also addresses a problem we don’t discuss enough—child poverty—by cutting it by 38 percent. I can think of nothing more at war with who we are as Americans than allowing kids to grow up in poverty. I’m hopeful today’s strong show of support will move us closer to signing the American Family Act into law, because for the families we represent, that day can’t come soon enough.”
“The American Family Act will help millions of families across the United States who are striving to provide the best possible future for their children,” DeLauro said. “In fact, according to a new study from the National Academy of Sciences, expanding the Child Tax Credit as we do in this legislation would reduce extreme childhood poverty by half. That is why we must push to pass the American Family Act and ensure that families have the resources they need to pay their bills and get ahead. Increasing the value of the Child Tax Credit, creating the Young Child Tax Credit for families with children under the age of six, and making both tax credits fully refundable would have a powerful impact on our youngsters’ health, their education, and their future.”
“Too many parents are facing difficult realities as they try to raise a family as stagnating wages, higher housing costs and student loan debt are making it harder for parents to give their children the opportunities they need to succeed,” DelBene said. “Strengthening the Child Tax Credit is a moral imperative that will help countless families in my district and across the country. By passing the American Family Act, we’ll be providing commonsense tax relief for working families and the middle class, creating a fairer system that allows parents to invest in their children’s future.”
Background
The American Family Act would replace the current Child Tax Credit with an expanded version based on the latest research about what works to improve outcomes for children. The Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy recently released a report that found the American Family Act would cut child poverty by 38 percent.
Specifically, the legislation would:
The bill text is available HERE. A fact sheet is available HERE.
Support
The bill was introduced with 36 original Senate cosponsors and 174 original House cosponsors.
In addition to Bennet and Brown, the following Senators cosponsored the legislation: Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Doug Jones (D-AL), Pat Leahy (D-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR)
The following organizations have endorsed the American Family Act: Center for American Progress, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Center for Law and Social Policy, Child Care Aware of America, Children’s Defense Fund, Community Change Action, Economic Security Project, First Focus, MomsRising, National Association for the Education of Young Children, National Women’s Law Center, Niskanen Center, Service Employees International Union, and Zero to Three
The following leaders in research and academia have announced support for the American Family Act:
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