House Dems Revive Bill to Make Poverty-Eradicating Child Tax Credit Permanent

As congressional Republicans intensify their assault on vital social programs, a trio of House Democrats on Wednesday reintroduced legislation that would make permanent the expanded monthly Child Tax Credit—a policy credited with lifting millions of U.S. children out of poverty.

The American Family Act—reintroduced by Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and backed by 204 House Democrats—would ensure the permanency of the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) as established in the American Rescue Plan, the sweeping $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package signed into law by President Joe Biden in March 2021. The expanded CTC expired at the end of 2021 amid the Omicron surge of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The legislation would continue the $300 monthly credit for children age 6 and younger while expanding the maximum CTC to $250 per month, or $3,000 annually—up from $2,000 under the previous policy. The bill also provides the full CTC to "left-behind" children by revoking a rule limiting the refundable portion to $1,400 per year and eliminating the earnings requirement that previously excluded about one-third of eligible children from the full credit.

"An investment in our children and their families is an investment in the future of our country."

According to a summary from DeLauro's office, the expanded CTC assisted more than 61 million children and lifted nearly 4 million youngsters out of poverty in 2021 alone.

"When we expanded and improved the Child Tax Credit in 2021 under the American Rescue Plan, it provided unprecedented economic security for American families. It was the largest tax cut for middle-class and working families in generations," DeLauro said in a statement.

"These monthly payments helped parents pay bills, keep healthy and nutritious food on the table, afford school clothes and supplies, pay for a music lesson or a new pair of cleats, or manage a mortgage or rent payment," she added. "It lifted nearly 4 million children out of poverty in one year alone. It worked, and it is time we get it working for families and children once more."

DelBene said that "the enhanced Child Tax Credit was one of the most transformational policies from the American Rescue Plan, lifting millions of children out of poverty, boosting our economy, and helping parents pay rent, put food on the table, and afford other essentials for their kids."

"This is a proven program that will help grow our economy by rebuilding and strengthening the middle class," she added.

Torres asserted that "an investment in our children and their families is an investment in the future of our country."

"No government program has impacted so many Americans in such a short amount of time," he said. "It's one reason why I was proud to support the American Rescue Plan and why we must pass the American Family Act. Making the Child Tax Credit permanent provides much-needed financial stability for working families, helps them make ends meet and fight rising costs, and reduces child poverty."

"I can't think of a more worthy cause than helping meet the basic needs of children—our future—so they can learn, grow, and reach their fullest potential," Torres added.

Progressive advocacy groups welcomed the bill's reintroduction.

"We're thrilled to see lawmakers prioritizing tax credits for low- and middle-income families with the introduction of the American Family Act today," Amy Hanauer, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), said in a statement. "This legislation would help millions of children and families, especially the lowest-income families who currently make too little to receive the CTC."

"We know the CTC works wonders to boost economic security; when the expanded credit was in place in 2021 child poverty was cut by an astonishing 46%," Hanauer added. "Restoring the more robust CTC should be a top priority of all lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. But unfortunately, this bill stands in stark contrast to other tax bills taking shape that would deeply cut taxes for profitable corporations and wealthy families."

The revived American Family Act comes amid relentless Republican attacks on social programs benefitting families, including slashing funds for rental assistance and education programs and the imposition of new work requirements on some recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) as conditions for agreeing to raise the debt ceiling to avoid what would have been a historic U.S. default.