Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) speaks to reporters ahead of the weekly party luncheons on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., August 1, 2017.
Reuters/Aaron Bernstein
The House has passed a bill to bolster the child tax credit and offer businesses tax relief. The legislation, a rare bipartisan effort, could lift hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty.It now heads to the Senate for a final vote.
The House just passed a bill to expand the child tax credit, bringing the relief one step closer to parents.
On Wednesday night, the House passed the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 by a vote 357-70, which aims to boost the child tax credit, implement low-income housing credits and disaster relief, and give businesses an R&D tax break, among other things.
The bill won bipartisan support, with an endorsement from Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who said in a Wednesday statement that it’s “important bipartisan legislation to revive conservative pro-growth tax reform.”
“This bottom-up process is a good example of how Congress is supposed to make law,” he said.
The legislation — a rare bipartisan feat — would both boost the child tax credit and offer GOP-friendly tax relief for businesses that invest in research and development, among other measures.
The refundable child tax credit would be increased from $1,600 a child to $1,800 in 2023 and would rise to $2,000 by 2025. In the first year of the legislation alone, the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates it would lift up to 400,000 kids out of poverty; by the time it’s fully in effect, half a million children would rise above the poverty line.
Households set to benefit from the proposal would see their 2023 tax bills cut by $680, according to an estimate from the Tax Policy Center, with a little over half of the lowest-earning households seeing a tax break.
The White House has also urged Congress to pass the legislation to get the tax relief to American families as soon as possible. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a press conference last week that the legislation is “a welcome step forward, and we believe Congress should pass it.”
“This is for millions of families,” Jean-Pierre said. “It’s going to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty and support construction of hundreds of thousands of affordable rental housing, as well, in that bipartisan agreement.”
The legislation didn’t pass without conservative pushback. Some GOP lawmakers were upset with the expansion of the child tax credit, along with the advancement of the tax package while other conservative priorities remained stalled.
“I’m sick of these gutless cowards in Washington. You know what we’re gonna put on the floor next week?” GOP Rep. Chip Roy told Fox radio host Jimmy Failla on last week. “A tax cut bill for corporations, because Republicans are whores for endless wars and corporations. That’s it. That’s what they stand for.”
The bill now heads to the Senate for a likely passage.