Denver – This week, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet visited with community organizations, school administrators, teachers, and parents in Grand Junction, Parachute, Denver, Fort Collins, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo to discuss what his Child Tax Credit expansion will mean for Colorado’s families and kids. The expanded Child Tax Credit, based on Senator Bennet’s American Family Act, was signed into law as part of the American Rescue Plan Act.
Bennet closed out the week with a virtual town hall co-hosted with MomsRising and tax policy experts from the Colorado Children’s Campaign and the Internal Revenue Service to help as many Colorado parents as possible understand how to use the newly expanded tax benefit.
“In the past year, I had a chance to visit all 64 counties. And everywhere I went, I heard the same thing: people are working really hard but can’t afford some combination of child care, health care, housing, and higher education,” said Bennet. “That’s why I’ve been fighting to expand the Child Tax Credit – going back long before the pandemic – and I am incredibly pleased that we got it done in the rescue plan. This is a historic step forward, and it’s going to make a massive difference in the lives of kids and families here in Colorado and across the country. Our job now is to make the changes permanent.”
“The Colorado Children’s Campaign believes the Child Tax Credit has been and continues to be one of the most vital tools we have to ensure Colorado families are financially secure. The pandemic has continued to force many families into poverty. Expanding the Child Tax Credit is a proven solution to a problem that impacts all Coloradans,” said Sarah Barnes, Manager of Special Policy Initiatives, Colorado Children’s Campaign. “Ensuring the Child Tax Credit is fully refundable guarantees that the lowest income families get critical support, which could mark a historic achievement of cutting child poverty in half. We thank Senator Bennet for his efforts to support those who are the furthest from opportunity.”
“Financial relief is so crucial for families like mine right now. My husband and I lost our jobs in the restaurant industry when the pandemic hit, shortly after that we found out we were pregnant with our first child,” said Robyn Boyles, a new mom and MomsRising member from Longmont. “My husband and I are back at work but only part-time, so we are struggling to cover the basics and dig ourselves out of the debt that has piled up because of the pandemic. It’s so stressful to worry about making ends meet as I recover from birth and balance having a newborn. That’s why I’m so excited about the expansion of the Child Tax Credit. The extra money will mean so much to my family and it’s a huge relief. It will help us stay on top of our bills, cover the basics, and have reliable transportation to and from work.”
“Expanding the Child Tax Credit will give me the flexibility to continue to grow my cleaning business and provide for my family at the same time,” said Fátima Alhexia Boylen, owner of Boylen Cleaning Services. “I can’t thank Senator Bennet enough for his efforts to get this included in the American Rescue Plan to support my family and so many other kids and families in Denver and across Colorado. This will benefit over one million kids statewide. Now Senator Bennet must fight to make the expansion of the tax credit permanent.”
“Costs associated with raising children are now one of the biggest barriers for upward economic mobility,” said Elyssa Schmier, National Director, National Budget and Taxes, MomsRising. “Senator Bennet’s successful push for an expanded Child Tax Credit in the Biden American Rescue Plan will be a lifeline for families and kids in Colorado and across the country.”
This week, Bennet toured the state to talk about how the expansion of the Child Tax Credit will significantly boost incomes for families in Colorado and cut child poverty almost in half.
- On Monday, Bennet visited with leaders from several organizations providing homeless assistance and affordable housing in Mesa County at Pathways Village Apartments in Grand Junction.
- On Tuesday, Bennet visited Mi Casa Resource Center in Denver to meet with several of their program participants.
- On Wednesday, Bennet visited La Familia in Fort Collins where he met with leaders of the community center and parents. He also toured the Emergency Family Assistance Association in Boulder and met with people the association has served.
- On Thursday, Bennet sat down with parents and social service providers at the Boys & Girls Club of Pueblo County. There were several parents that Bennet previously met with in 2018 after he introduced the American Family Act to expand the Child Tax Credit.
- Today, Bennet, MomsRising, and tax policy experts hosted a town hall discussion with hundreds of parents across Colorado about how they can use the newly expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC).
An integral part of the American Rescue Plan, the expanded CTC is projected to cut child poverty in America by nearly half. It would lift 57,000 kids in Colorado out of poverty and benefit over 1 million kids statewide, including nearly 350,000 kids who have been left out of the full, existing CTC. The expansion of the CTC in the American Rescue Plan is modeled after the American Family Act, which Bennet first introduced in 2017 with U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).
After the American Rescue Plan became law, Bennet led over 40 Senate colleagues to urge President Biden to make the bill’s one-year tax credit expansions permanent as part of his recovery and infrastructure plan. Bennet will continue to push the Biden Administration to make the CTC expansion permanent to create lasting change for America’s kids and families.