This week, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet hosted a roundtable discussion at Friends Park Pavilion in Alamosa, with the Boys and Girls Club of the San Luis Valley, Mayor Ty Coleman, Alamosa County Commissioner Lori Laske, school administrators, the Alamosa County Human Services Director, and parents, to talk about how Colorado families and kids are benefiting from the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC).
“As we saw here in Alamosa, the expanded Child Tax Credit is already making a huge difference in the lives of families in Colorado and boosting incomes. Since July, these payments have helped an overwhelming majority of parents afford things like child care, groceries, school supplies, and other necessary expenses,” said Bennet. “I will take the stories I heard today back with me to Washington next week as we work to lock in this tax credit expansion for years to come.”
“The Child Tax Credit give families facing financial challenges the hope to move forward. It gives them the freedom to not have to choose between paying the utility bill or buying groceries, giving them a better quality of life in our community,” said Alamosa Mayor Ty Coleman.
“The Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan provides a historic investment in working families,” said Sherri Valdez, Executive Director, Early Childhood Council San Luis Valley. “As the director of a local non-profit organization, we work with over 200 children and their families each year that live in poverty or have additional risk factors for optimal child development and school readiness. The Child Tax Credit is helping our families cover the cost of child care, groceries, and housing, alleviating some of the stress they experience and helping them access basic needs and additional services. Legislation making the increased Child Tax Credit permanent would be a game changer for Colorado kids and families.”
Bennet has championed the expansion of the CTC for years. In March 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law a one-year expansion of the CTC, based on Bennet’s American Family Act, in the American Rescue Plan Act. This expansion has the potential to cut nationwide child poverty nearly in half this year and benefit 90% of American children. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau released in August found economic hardship declined in households with children following the first payments of the expanded CTC in July. The data also shows food insufficiency dropped in households with children.
“My kids are really active in school and they go to dance at a studio in town. This tax credit has helped me cover the cost of their dance shoes and other expenses related to their extracurricular activities,” said Ruby Beltran, parent, and member of the SLV Early Childhood Council.
“As a single parent, the child tax credit has helped me cover our rent. It has also benefited my three girls who participate in sports and other activities,” said Amberly Atencio, parent, and member of the SLV Early Childhood Council.
In his American Families Plan, Biden proposed permanent full refundability of the CTC, as well as extending the enhanced CTC value and monthly payments through 2025. The president also committed to working with Congress to make the full, expanded CTC permanent. Bennet and his colleagues continue to push for a permanent expansion of the Child Tax Credit in the Build Back Better package.