Congressman Steven Horsford Joins Reps. DeLauro, DelBene, and Torres in Introducing the American Family Act, Legislation to Expand the Child Tax Credit

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Congressman Steven Horsford joined Representatives Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), and Ritchie Torres (NY-15), to reintroduce the American Family Act (AFA), legislation to permanently expand and improve the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and make it a dramatically more effective tool for reducing child poverty and supporting families with kids. The American Rescue Plan includes one year of an expanded and improved CTC modeled after the American Family Act.

"The Child Tax Credit has lifted millions of children out of poverty, but many are still excluded because their families make too little to qualify for the credit. I'm glad to join my colleagues to introduce the American Family Act and be part of the solution." said Congressman Steven Horsford. "By expanding the child tax credit to include lower-income families and providing monthly payments, we can lift more than 40 percent of Nevada children out of poverty. I look forward to passing a permanent Child Tax Cut extension into law to ensure that families are supported long after the pandemic."

The American Family Act would expand and improve the CTC based on the latest research about what works to improve outcomes for children. According to estimates from Columbia University, the CTC now lifts approximately one-sixth of all previously poor children above the poverty line. However, one third of all children do not have access to the full benefit because they are in families who earn too little to get the full CTC. This group disproportionately includes larger families, rural families, military families, and families with young children.

The bill is estimated to cut child poverty by nearly 45%, cut Asian American and Pacific Islander child poverty by 37.0%, cut Black child poverty by 52.4%, cut Hispanic child poverty by 45.4%, cut Native American child poverty by 61.5%, and cut white child poverty by 38.6%. In addition to drastically cutting child poverty, the American Family Act provides middle class families with additional help as well.

Specifically, the legislation would:

• Increase the Maximum Child Tax Credit and Pay Benefits Monthly for All Children under 17. The bill would expand the CTC to $250 per month ($3,000 per year) for children 6 years of age or older and $300 per month ($3,600 per year) for children under 6, up from the current maximum of $2,000 per year.
• Make Credit Fully Refundable. The bill would make the CTC fully refundable, meaning that all low-income families would receive the full credit for each child. The current CTC only begins to phase-in after a taxpayer has earned $2,500 of income and at a rate of 15 cents for every dollar of additional income. In addition, only $1,400 of the $2,000 credit is refundable.
• Benefit the Middle Class. The bill would provide a tax credit for all individuals with children who earn less than $150,000 per year and all married couples with children who earn less than $200,000 per year.
• Index the Credit for Inflation. The bill would index the credit to inflation (rounding to the nearest $50) to preserve the value of the credit going forward. The current CTC is not indexed for inflation.

The American Family Act was introduced with 154 original House cosponsors indicating a broad show of support across the Democratic Caucus. The full text of the bill is here.

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MEDIA CONTACT
Geneva Kropper | geneva.kropper@mail.house.gov | 202-849-0251