This statement can be attributed to Indivar Dutta-Gupta, president and executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy.

Washington DC, January 31, 2024—The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) applauds today’s passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024. This bipartisan tax proposal makes a meaningful step toward a fully refundable and inclusive Child Tax Credit (CTC).

Although the bill’s enhanced CTC falls short of what children deserve, our partners at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimate that 400,000 children would escape poverty in the bill’s first year. In addition, some 3 million children in poor households would have their families’ incomes raised.

The bill isn’t perfect, and we’ll continue to fight for a fully equitable CTC that is even stronger than the successful pandemic-era 2021 credit. For now, we urge the Senate to pass this bill without any modifications that would reduce CTC payments for families with low or moderate incomes.