Yesterday a minority of Senators blocked the advancement of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, a bipartisan bill that would have expanded the Child Tax Credit (CTC) for nearly 16 million children in families with low incomes. Despite passing the House with overwhelming bipartisan support in January, the bill faced opposition in the Senate. In the Senate, the bill faced a procedural vote that requires 60 Senators to vote to advance the bill. Despite the bill having 48 yes and 44 no votes, it did not reach the 60 votes needed.
Research from Children’s HealthWatch and others on the 2021 CTC expansion, showed its incredible health and poverty reduction impact. When families had more resources, they could purchase more and healthier food and were better able to pay their rent. Parents experienced better health, and could buy the things their children needed, like clothing or age-appropriate toys and books. These all have long-term, significant benefits for children’s health, development, and growth, and their parents’ overall well-being.
While the bipartisan tax package fell short of restoring the CTC enacted in 2021, it would have provided a meaningful down payment to children and families now and lifted an estimated 400,000 children out of poverty.
Children’s HealthWatch will relentlessly continue our work to make the CTC fully refundable, available, and accessible to all children living in the U.S. We thank the members of Congress who championed this expansion and who remain committed to a fully refundable and accessible CTC that will uplift our communities and help all children thrive.