January 31, 2024, Boston, MA– The National Parents Union Senior Director of the NPU Center for Policy & Action, Ariel Taylor Smith, released the following statement after passage of the tax package that includes the expansion of the child tax credit:
“Tonight, The House of Representatives passed a bipartisan tax package with American families in mind. The inclusion of an expanded Child Tax Credit in the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 will provide relief for millions of hard-working families across the country. While the economy might feel healthy for those on Wall Street, for those on Main Street, we continue to feel pressed by rising costs of groceries and housing, paired with the expiration of critical family benefit programs, like the Child Tax Credit. Raising a family right now in the US is hard– tonight’s passage of an expansion of the Child Tax Credit will give millions of families a little more breathing room.
While this version of the Child Tax Credit won’t reach as many families as the 2021 version, it will extend the benefit to 16 million kids across the country, bringing their parents much-needed relief. If we had it our way, we would have preferred an expansion that mirrored the monthly payments in 2021- that version of the Child Tax Credit cut child poverty in half.
We want to thank Chairman Smith and his staff for leading the way in the House and prioritizing the needs of American families.
We look forward to the Senate taking this up with the urgency our kids deserve so that we can begin the long road of reversing the child poverty trend that spiked sharply once the Child Tax Credit expansion lapsed. This is an important step toward getting millions of families the relief they so desperately need.”
ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARENTS UNION
With nearly 1,500 affiliated parent organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, the National Parents Union is the united, independent voice of modern American families. We channel the power of parents into powerful policies that improve the lives of children, families and communities across the United States. https://nationalparentsunion.org/