STATEMENT: CAP’s Melissa Boteach on Introduction of the Child Tax Credit Improvement Act
Washington, D.C. — The Center for American Progressed issued the following statement on Sen. Michael Bennet’s (D-CO) introduction of the Child Tax Credit Improvement Act. The bill reflects CAP’s call for Congress to strengthen the Child Tax Credit, or CTC, to help children and families step back from the financial brink and promote long-term economic mobility. Melissa Boteach, Vice President of the Poverty to Prosperity Program at CAP, stated:
We applaud Sen. Bennet for introducing an important package of reforms to strengthen the Child Tax Credit. For decades now, American workers have been experiencing stagnant wages, yet the costs for working families continue to climb. New CAP analysis shows that child-related costs account for nearly 70 percent of this middle-class squeeze, leaving families with infants and toddlers particularly stretched at the time when income matters most for their children’s long-term development.
CAP has championed reforms such as making the CTC more fully available to low- and moderate-income families, ensuring its value does not continue to erode due to inflation, and providing a boosted young child tax credit. These are critical enhancements to support the anti-poverty power of the Child Tax Credit and lift up children’s future employment, education, and health outcomes.
Related resources:
- Harnessing the Child Tax Credit as a Tool to Invest in the Next Generation by Rachel West, Melissa Boteach, and Rebecca Vallas
- Enhancing the Child Tax Credit Would Substantially Lessen the Depth of Child Poverty Across States by Rachel West, Melissa Boteach, Rebecca Vallas, and Andrew Lomax
- Strengthening the Child Tax Credit Would Help Level the Playing Field for Communities of Color by Melissa Boteach
- Strengthening the Child Tax Credit Would Provide Greater Economic Stability for Millennial Parents by Sunny Frothingham, Rachel West, Melissa Boteach, and Rebecca Vallas
- The Middle-Class Squeeze, edited by Jennifer Erickson
For more information on this topic or to speak with an expert, contact Liz Bartolomeo at lbartolomeo@americanprogress.org or 202.481.8151.
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