This week, Colorado US Senator Michael Bennet and Colorado leaders applauded Senate passage of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which includes an expanded and fully refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC).
“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,” said Bennet. “The American Rescue Plan addresses a problem we don’t discuss enough — child poverty — by cutting it in half. I can think of nothing more at war with who we are as Americans than allowing kids to grow up in poverty. This tax credit will transform the lives of millions of Coloradans during this crisis and afterward.”
An integral part of the American Rescue Plan, the expanded CTC, would 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 introduced in 2017 with Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).
“Our research shows the costs associated with raising children are now one of the biggest barriers for upward economic mobility,” said Scott Wasserman, President, Bell Policy Center. “There is a lot more to be done, but Senator Bennet’s successful push for an expanded Child Tax Credit in the Biden American Rescue Plan is a great step forward as we work toward a larger, less exclusive middle class in Colorado and across the country.”
From a story by in The New York Times, March 7:
The child benefit has the makings of a policy revolution. Though framed in technocratic terms as an expansion of an existing tax credit, it is essentially a guaranteed income for families with children, akin to children’s allowances that are common in other rich countries.
The plan establishes the benefit for a single year. But if it becomes permanent, as Democrats intend, it will greatly enlarge the safety net for the poor and the middle class at a time when the volatile modern economy often leaves families moving between those groups. More than 93 percent of children — 69 million — would receive benefits under the plan, at a one-year cost of more than $100 billion.
“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 Kelly Causey, CEO and President of the 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.”