DeLauro, DelBene, Torres Introduce Legislation to Make Permanent the Expanded, Monthly Child Tax Credit

Livestream of press conference available HERE

Today, U.S. Representatives Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Suzan DelBene (WA-01) and Ritchie Torres (NY-15) reintroduced the American Family Act, legislation that would make permanent the expanded, monthly Child Tax Credit. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced identical legislation in the Senate.

“Families are living paycheck to paycheck,” said DeLauro. “They need help dealing with high costs and the Child Tax Credit is one of our most powerful and proven solutions – an antidote to inflation. It provides middle and working-class families with unprecedented economic security and lifts millions of children out of poverty. I am proud to join my colleagues in reintroducing this legislation. We need the Child Tax Credit now.”

“I consistently hear from families across the country the challenges they face getting by. The costs of housing, food and child care can be overwhelming. Democrats have a proven solution to help with the expanded Child Tax Credit. We know that it works because we have used it before, and it is supported by considerable data and countless stories from families,” said DelBene. “Republicans let the expanded Child Tax Credit expire in 2021 and since then child poverty has more than doubled. Lifting kids out of poverty should not be a partisan issue. Yet, Republicans continue to prioritize the wealthy and well-connected and refuse to work to create bipartisan tax policy that supports working families. If we truly want to make America a place where families and the middle class can thrive, we need to pass the American Family Act.”

"The American Family Act would be a lifeline for millions of families who have been left behind for far too long. By expanding and fully refunding the Child Tax Credit, we would make a crucial investment in the future of our children — lifting millions out of poverty, putting money directly into the pockets of working families, and ensuring that every child, no matter their background, has a fair shot at success,” said Torres. “The evidence is clear: the expanded CTC worked at exponentially reducing childhood poverty, and it is time to make it permanent. This is not just economic policy: it is a moral imperative."

The expanded, monthly Child Tax Credit is proven to deliver economic security to American families and lift millions of children out of poverty. The 2021 expansion of the CTC in the American Rescue Plan Act, which DeLauro secured, was based on the American Family Act. It led to a historic reduction in poverty in the United States, particularly for children. Research showed that child poverty fell immediately and substantially to 5.2%, its lowest level on record.

Specifically, the American Family Act would:

• Increase the value of the CTC from the current level of $2,000 per child to $6,360 for newborns, $4,320 for children ages one through six, and $3,600 for children age six through 17;
• End the longstanding, discriminatory policy that reduces the value of the Child Tax Credit for low-income families, ensuring that the families of 17 million low-income children left out of the CTC under current law will receive the same credit as families in the middle class;
• Provide for monthly delivery of the credit so families have access to the credit as bills arrive; and
• Index the CTC for inflation to preserve the value of the credit moving forward.

President Trump campaigned on lowering costs for American families and Vice President JD Vance voiced support for bolstering the Child Tax Credit on the campaign trail. As Republicans work on a forthcoming tax package, they must include the expanded Child Tax Credit – a commonsense, tested policy that delivers for American workers and families.