The American Family Act would nearly double the Child Tax Credit (CTC) from its current rate

The bill would also provide a “Baby Bonus”, a $2,400 one-time payment for newborns

The legislation adjusts for inflation and makes the Child Tax Credit fully refundable for low-income parents

 If no action is taken and current provisions expire at the end of the year, the CTC will be slashed in half 

Since entering the Senate in 2021, Senator Reverend Warnock has been a leading advocate for expanding the CTC to support working families and lift children out of poverty

Senator Reverend Warnock: “Expanding the Child Tax Credit is not only the right thing to do morally, but also the smart thing to do economically; I will keep fighting to get this done and ensure Congress invests in our children and families with more urgency than we invest in our country’s millionaires and billionaires”

Above: Senator Reverend Warnock meets one of his smaller constituents

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), alongside Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), led the introduction of ambitious legislation to provide the most generous expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to date. Relative to the current CTC, the American Family Act would double the CTC for children under 6 years old and nearly double it for kids 6 and up. The bill would also provide a “Baby Bonus”, a $2,400 one-time payment for newborns. 

Under current law, the CTC is $2,000 per child ages 0-16. If no action is taken and current provisions expire at the end of the year, that would be cut in half to $1,000 per child. Senator Warnock’s proposal would increase this tax cut for families in Georgia and across the country by providing a $4,320 credit for children under 6 years old, and a $3,600 credit for children 6-17, as well as providing the Baby Bonus.

“With the most ambitious expansion of the Child Tax Credit to date, this legislation would put more money back into the pockets of working families while helping lift millions of children out of poverty,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “Expanding the Child Tax Credit is not only the right thing to do morally, but also the smart thing to do economically; I will keep fighting to get this done and ensure Congress invests in our children and families with more urgency than we invest in our country’s millionaires and billionaires.”

America’s families and their pocketbooks are being squeezed like never before. From the rising cost of groceries and child care to the ever-growing challenge of affording rent and health care, the basic expenses of raising children continues to outpace wages. As families try to stay afloat, Senator Warnock believes the federal Child Tax Credit (CTC) is one of the most effective tools we have to combat child poverty and support working parents.

The legislation also makes the Child Tax Credit fully refundable for low-income parents. Right now, many low-income parents only receive $1,700 of the $2,000 CTC. The regular credits only lower a family’s tax bill, so if they do not owe much, they miss out. This bill changes that so they get the full amount. This provision is important for ensuring working-class families and children in poverty get ample support too, not just wealthier households. 

In 2021, Congress passed legislation temporarily expanding the Child Tax Credit, which lifted 165,000 Georgia children out of poverty, 2.9 million children across the country, and cut the national child poverty rate in half. Currently, there are more than 11 million children living below the poverty line in the United States. If no action is taken and current provisions expire at the end of the year, then the Child Tax Credit will be slashed in half and working families will be further strapped for cash at a time when this administration is taking reckless actions that will raise costs for Americans. 

Since entering the Senate in 2021, Senator Reverend Warnock has been a leading advocate for expanding the CTC to support working families and lift children out of poverty. Senator Warnock successfully pushed to include an expansion of the CTC in the American Rescue Plan, which helped cut child poverty across the country in half until Congress let the tax cut expire. In 2022, Senator Warnock called on Congress to extend the tax cuts for working families and urged the Biden Administration to secure an extension of the expanded CTC as a centerpiece of any subsequent negotiations on economic legislative priorities. In February 2024, Senator Warnock questioned former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on the economic benefits, for both states and families, of the CTC. Continuing his efforts in August 2024, Senator Warnock spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate advocating for legislation to expand the CTC. 

Bill text of the American Family Act can be found HERE.

A one-pager on the American Family Act is available HERE.

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