Brown Applauds Biden ‘American Families Plan’ To Make Once-In-A-Generation Investment In Ohio Kids, Families, And Economic Future

 

Plan Includes Priorities Brown has Long Fought for: Investments in Education, Health Care, & Child Care; Cutting Costs and Taxes for Working Families; Allowing Workers to Earn Paid Family Leave

WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 28, 2021 — U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today applauded President Biden’s newly released American Families Plan, which would make historic investments in Ohio kids, working families, and our economic future as a nation. The proposal would strengthen our investments in education, health care, and child care, while cutting costs and taxes for working families and leaving the U.S. more competitive by expanding our middle class.

Brown believes we must invest in the people and the communities that make this country work, and he looks forward to working with the Administration to make these once-in-a-generation investments a reality, alongside historic investments to improve our nation’s infrastructure and create good-paying jobs.

“Even before the pandemic, hard work wasn’t paying off for millions of workers and their families. This plan recognizes that caregiving IS work – work that makes all other work possible – and its costs have been eating away at families’ budgets and holding back our economy for decades. I look forward to negotiating with my colleagues in Congress on a package that invests in the people who make this country work,” said Brown.

Brown continued, “Throughout this process, I’ve made clear that I’ll never stop fighting to put more money in Ohioans’ pockets through the permanent expansions of EITC and CTC. We’re not giving up, because these are two of the best tools we have to put reward work and lift millions of children out of poverty.”

Brown applauded the plan’s call to make expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and full refundability of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) permanent. He also vowed to continue pushing for the permanent expansion of the size of the CTC, which the plan calls to extend only until 2025. Brown has been fighting to expand the CTC for years. Last month, Brown led 41 Senate Democrats in penning a letter to President Biden, urging him to build on the success of the American Rescue Plan by making critical tax credits for working families permanent. Last Congress, he led Senate Democrats in re-introducing the Working Families Tax Relief Act to cut taxes for workers and families by expanding both the EITC and CTC – two of the most effective tools to put money in the pockets of working people and pull children out of poverty.

This plan would be paid for by ensuring this country’s wealthiest few and top 1 percent pay their fair share in taxes. Under the plan, no family making less than $400,000 per year would see their taxes go up. When combined with the American Jobs Plan – which would be paid for by ensuring the largest corporations pay their fair share in taxes – both plans would fully pay for themselves over 15 years.

The American Families Plan contains several critical investments that would benefit Ohio children, families, and communities. The proposal would:

·       Help cut costs for working families, and maintain key tax cuts for working families from American Rescue Plan, by:

o   Making the Earned Income Tax Credit expansion for childless workers permanent, benefitting 17 million low-wage workers, many of whom are essential and child care workers

o   Making the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit permanent, providing up to $4,000 to cover expenses related to care for a child under age 13

o   Extending the Child Tax Credits increases in the American Rescue Plan for another five years – increasing tax credits for child under 6 from $2,000 to $3,600 and for child over 6 from $2,000 to $3,000

§  Brown vowed to continue fighting throughout negotiations to make these permanent

o   Lowering health care costs by making the American Rescue Plan’s health insurance premium reductions permanent, thereby saving families an average of $50 per person per month

·       Make education more affordable and expand opportunity through transformational investments, by:

o   Providing access to high-quality universal preschool for all three- and four-year-olds, benefitting roughly 5 million children

o   Making two years of community college free for all Americans, including DREAMers

o   Investing $9 billion to strengthen teacher pipelines and address shortages, thereby increasing the number of teachers of color and supporting the growth of all teachers, and helping current teachers earn in-demand credentials

o   Lowering college cost for low- and middle- income students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Minority Serving Institutions (MCIs)

o   Increasing the maximum Pell Grant award by approximately $1,400 and allowing DREAMers to access the funding

·       Make the U.S. more competitive by expanding the middle class and providing economic security to families, by:

o   Ensuring no one earning under 150 percent of state median income has to pay more than 7 percent of their income on high-quality care for children under 5

o   Providing comprehensive paid family and medical leave, thereby allowing workers to take the time they need to care for themselves or loved ones

o   Reducing childhood hunger by expanding school meal programs and improving the summer meal programs for children and families

o   Investing $1 billion in maternal health, thereby improving health outcomes for mothers and babies