WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Patty Murray (D-WA), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, introduced legislation to ease the burden of child care costs on working families by making permanent tax cuts that Casey successfully fought for in the American Rescue Plan.
Casey’s temporary expansion of a child care tax credit, the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC), quadrupled the average family’s credit from $593 to $2,158. Casey’s reforms also made low-income families eligible for the credit for the first time by making it refundable. The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act would make that expansion permanent.
“We must do everything in our power to put affordable child care within reach for every family, as we did when we expanded tax credits to help families pay for child care in 2021. Child care costs were too high for too many families well before the pandemic and that problem isn’t going away unless we take action to lower costs,” Casey said. “It’s long past time to step up and make the child care tax credit available to everyone at the actual cost of child care today.”
“The growing child care crisis is putting incredible strain on families in every corner of the country, and this bill would help get families some additional relief to afford the child care they need,” Murray said. “Sen. Casey continues to lead efforts to help lower families’ costs in every possible way, and I am proud to work right alongside him and Sen. Wyden in fighting to help make child care affordable and accessible for everyone. Child care is not just a must for families—it’s an urgent economic challenge we must address.”
“Child care is one the greatest expenses parents face, and often comes with a higher cost than what families spend on housing or in-state college tuition,” said First Five Years Fund Executive Director Sarah Rittling.
The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act would increase the maximum credit amount to $4,000 per child; automatically adjust it to keep pace with inflation; save money by phasing-out the credit for families making more than $400,000; and ensure low-income families can benefit from the tax credit by making it refundable, allowing families to receive up to $8,000 each.
