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DeLauro Statement on Hillary Clinton’s Proposal to Expand the Child Tax Credit

October 11, 2016

WASHINGTON, DC (October 11, 2016) Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today released the following statement regarding Hillary Clinton’s new proposal to expand the Child Tax Credit and ensure that it covers more American families.

“I applaud Hillary Clinton’s proposal to expand the Child Tax Credit to working families that have not been able to benefit from the current Child Tax Credit. Children should not have to live in poverty because their parents cannot earn enough to get by and this proposal will give working families the much needed help they deserve,” said DeLauro. “By building on the success of the Child Tax Credit, Hillary’s plan will lift more American children out of poverty. I have long advocated for expanding access to the Child Tax Credit—including increasing the value of the credit for families with younger children—and I look forward to working with Hillary to strengthen this program when she is elected President.”

DeLauro recently introduced with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Ways and Means Ranking Democrat Sandy Levin the Young Child Tax Credit Act, which would provide families with an additional $1,500 refundable tax credit for each child under the age of 3 years old. Young children, including babies and toddlers, are the poorest people in the country and the Young Child Tax Credit would serve to give families an economic lift during a child’s critical development years.

Economists have found a correlation between income levels in the earliest years of a child’s life and school achievement, which can impact a child long into adulthood. Children born to millennial parents now make up 80 percent of the 4 million births in the U.S. annually, and 1 in 5 millennial parents live in poverty. With the Young Child Tax Credit, families, including those with millennial parents, will receive a raise in income during a time when family income matters the most to a child’s long term development.

The Young Child Tax Credit would operate as a refundable tax credit with no minimum income threshold for families to clear in order to be eligible. Low-income families frequently are not eligible for tax credits because of an income threshold, a detrimental factor in attempting to alleviate poverty.

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