There’s a bipartisan plan to ease child poverty—if the GOP will let it happen

A bipartisan, bicameral pair of powerful committee chairs have a deal to resurrect (at least partially) the COVID-era child tax credit expansion that raised millions of children up out of poverty. The plan is part of a larger tax proposal agreed upon by Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, who is chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican.

“Sixteen million kids from low-income families will be better off as a result of this plan, and given today’s miserable political climate, it’s a big deal to have this opportunity to pass pro-family policy that helps so many kids get ahead,” Wyden said when announcing the agreement, which would expire in 2026. The plan would expand the credit to families whose income is too low to receive the full child tax credit. It would also raise the refundable cap on the tax credit from $1,600 per child to $1,800 for the 2023 tax year, to $1,900 in 2024, and $2,000 in 2025.