WASHINGTON — As members of Congress this week debated President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax cut plans, Congresswoman Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, zeroed in on the importance of the child tax credit.
Moore is a member of the Ways and Means committee, which takes up all tax legislation.
“I was smart, intelligent, but I went to school every day and ate the crumbs and the garbage off of kids’ plates,” she said in a hearing this week. “We have been pilloried and criticized for talking about unjustly enriching the wealthiest people. I heard someone over there talk about the high cost of expanding this child tax credit. It’s worth every dime. This is an investment in our future, in our kids.”
Under the Republican plan, the tax credit would increase to $2,500 per child, from $2,000. Moore said she supports the increase, but wants to eliminate the requirement that parents meet income thresholds to obtain the credit. She said that amounts to a work requirement.
“I really give the Republicans credit for increasing the child tax credit... What I find so vexing is that our Republican colleagues seem to want to connect the work and income and earnings of parents to the amount of the child tax credit,” Moore said. “We leave out 17 million of the poorest children whose parents don’t have adequate income or enough income to meet the threshold to qualify for a partial or full refundability. It’s so distressing to think that we’re providing a child subsidy and leaving out the poorest children, the children who need it the most.”
Spectrum News reached out to the Ways and Means committee for a response and did not hear back by the time of publishing.
Unless Congress acts by the end of the year, the tax credit would revert to $1,000 per child, its level before it was increased under the president’s 2017 tax overhaul.
“If you look at our bill, we’re delivering on the president’s priorities,” said Rep. Jason Smith, R-Missouri, who chairs the Ways and Means committee.
Under the Republican plan, the tax credit would increase to $2,500 through 2028. After that, the credit would revert to $2,000 but would be indexed to inflation.
“Parents will benefit from a 25% increase in the child tax credit that will grow with inflation and get help with the high cost of childcare, adoption and education,” Smith said this week.
Democrats said the president’s overall tax plan disproportionately favors the rich. Republicans said they heard from “real Americans” about how his 2017 tax cuts benefited them.
“We heard from a mother in Iowa, who can afford the care required for her son living with disabilities because of lower taxes and the doubled Child Tax Credit the 2017 tax cuts delivered,” Smith said.
The legislation would for the first time require parents to have valid social security numbers to be eligible for the child tax credit. Currently, only the dependent must have a social security number. The provision is part of the GOP’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants. Democrats warn it could lead to families losing the benefit.
Moore spoke to children who are protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, which allows certain undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children to receive protection from deportation.
“We’ve raised them. They’re smart. They’re talented,” Moore said. “We don’t have any throwaway kids. We don’t have any extra kids in this country. Every single child in this country is precious.”
The proposal passed out of committee. It remains to be seen if it makes it to the president’s desk.