Senator Dick Durbin Responds To My Letter RE: EITC

 

March 1, 2021 Mr. William Rosen ----------------------- ----------------------- Dear Mr. Rosen:           Thank you for contacting me about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC).  I appreciate hearing from you and share your support for strengthening and expanding these important tax credits.            The EITC is a refundable credit available to eligible low-income workers, and the CTC provides a refundable tax credit to help offset the cost of raising a child.  These tax credits provide billions of dollars in tax relief each year to families across Illinois.  Congress must give families more tools to help make ends meet and make it easier for them to care for their children, especially as American families continue to deal with the economic insecurity sowed by the global coronavirus pandemic.            I support EITC and CTC expansion as included in the American Rescue Plan—a comprehensive package proposed by President Biden, which would provide the resources the American people need to survive this pandemic and lengthy financial hardship.  The President's initiatives would give an earnings boost to millions of Americans, many of whom have been working on the frontlines of this pandemic, and would seek to cut child poverty in half within the next year.            In the last session of Congress, I helped introduce the Working Families Tax Relief Act (S. 1138), which would have cut taxes for workers and families by expanding the EITC and CTC.  In Illinois, the Working Families Tax Relief Act would have boosted the incomes of 1.7 million households, 4.3 million people, and 1.8 million children.  I also was a cosponsor of the American Family Act of 2019 (S. 680), which would have created a new $300 per month young child tax credit for children under six, expanded the CTC to $3,000 per year for children six or older, and made the CTC fully refundable.  Unfortunately, the then-Republican controlled Senate refused to let either piece of legislation be brought to the Senate Floor for consideration.            Thank you again for contacting me.  I will keep your thoughts in mind as the Senate continues to consider legislation to strengthen the financial security of working-class families.  Please feel free to keep in touch.
	Sincerely,       Richard J. Durbin       United States Senator
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