Washington, D.C. — Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet alongside U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) led 35 of their Senate colleagues to reintroduce the Working Families Tax Relief Act. This legislation would cut taxes for Coloradans by expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), two of the most effective tools to reduce poverty and put money back in the pockets of working families.
“The expanded Child Tax Credit benefitted 61 million American kids, helped cut childhood poverty nearly in half, and cut hunger by a quarter for families. Parents across Colorado told me it reduced their stress and made it easier for them to afford child care, rent and school supplies. It was the best thing we’ve done for kids and families in generations,” said Bennet. “Restoring the expanded Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit is a pro-family, pro-work, and pro-democracy policy. We should have never let these tax cuts expire, and it’s past time we get this done.”
“Families are working harder than ever but have less and less to show for it. Corporations have raised prices to pad their profits, the cost of child care continues to rise, and parents can’t keep up, no matter how hard they work,” said Brown. “Our plan would put more money back in the pockets of working families, and help parents afford all the extra expenses that come with raising children.”
“During the pandemic, we expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) and saw the immediate, revolutionary impact that these expansions had on families across America,” said Booker. “Making these expansions permanent is an evidence-based way to address some of our nation’s most urgent challenges, including rising cost-of-living, child care expenses, and child poverty. Investing in America’s families is an investment in our country’s future. We must pass this legislation and ensure that our economy works for everyone.”
“When Democrats expanded the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit in 2021, 3.7 million children were lifted out of poverty and families in Oregon and all around the country got some much-needed financial breathing room for the first time,” said Wyden. “This is a proven strategy to cut poverty and help families get ahead economically, but Republicans have blocked every effort to renew it. Republicans argue that people of modest incomes will quit their jobs if the tax code gives them just a little more financial support, but the record shows that employment grew and our economy created millions of jobs while the CTC and EITC expansions were in place in 2021. We’re going to look for every opportunity to pass this legislation in the coming weeks and months, and I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to overcome the opposition.”
“As costs have risen, wages haven’t kept up. We need to give workers and families more tools to help make ends meet,” said Durbin. “The Working Families Tax Relief Act would lift millions of Americans and children out of poverty and make sure our tax system is fair to the workers and families who have been left behind.”
“Public policy is a letter we write to our children, and when we cut childhood poverty nearly in half through the expanded Child Tax Credit and Earned Income and Child Tax Credit programs included in the American Rescue Plan, we were investing in a better future for the next generation,” said Warnock. “These tax cuts for the middle-class boosted our economy and provided comfort and opportunity to the families of more than 2 million Georgia kids. I’m proud to join my colleagues to introduce the Working Families Tax Relief Act, which would make these smart, family-focused policies permanent by centering the people who matter the most in our federal policy.”
Specifically, The Working Families Tax Relief Act would:
- Boost the incomes of 40 million households, including 65 million children;
- Increase the CTC to $3,000 for kids 6-17 and $3,600 for kids 0-5 – when parents need it most – and make the credit fully refundable;
- Deliver the CTC monthly, providing a reliable source of financial stability so families can better keep up with the cost of living;
- Nearly triple the EITC for workers without children and make the credit available for people starting at age 19 and eliminating the maximum age. Currently, workers without children can be taxed into poverty. Expanding the EITC would fix that;
- Make permanent the American Rescue Plan’s expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, which cut child poverty by 40 percent.
For almost a decade, Bennet has fought to expand and improve the Child Tax Credit. In 2015, Bennet introduced the Child Tax Credit Improvement Act to index the credit to inflation, increase the value of the credit for families with young children, and allow families to receive a larger refund from the credit on their tax returns. In 2017, Bennet and Brown first introduced the American Family Act to triple the credit for all children and make the credit fully refundable. In 2021, Bennet, Brown, and Senate colleagues successfully led the push to include a child benefit based on the American Family Act in the American Rescue Plan. Last year, Bennet successfully rallied his colleagues to not support corporate tax breaks without passing an expanded Child Tax Credit. As Coloradans continue to face high costs, Bennet will continue fighting to restore this lifeline for families across the country.
This legislation is also cosponsored by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).