Ciscomani urges Senate to quickly pass Child Tax Credit expansion, help 400,000 Arizona kids
Download mp3 (1.24 MB)An effort funded through the American Rescue Plan to expand the federal Child Tax Credit expired in 2022. A more modest, but similar proposal that some lawmakers say would benefit more than 400,000 Arizona children is moving through Congress now.
Arizona Republican Juan Ciscomani is urging the Senate to move on the proposal quickly.
“I'm looking at this as both a legislator and a dad as well,” said Ciscomano. “The Child Tax Credit is very important for families of any size.”
It’s a reference to one key change to how the credit would work – that low-income families would receive the same credit amount per child the way higher-income families already do.
Ciscomani said he would've liked to see a slightly longer timeline built in, but “it's a good point to start with what we have now and also looking forward to the opportunity of taking another stab at this in a couple of years.”
The proposal, he added, could have been more aggressive in some areas “but it was a consensus that was found in terms of what if needed to move forward.”
“I would have liked to see this, maybe give it another year or so like we had with the previous 2017 package,” said Ciscomani. “But when you look at low income families, for example, especially those with multiple children, they are going to be the ones that are going to be helped the most.”
Now that it’s in the Senate’s hands, Ciscomani urged them to act so that people can benefit as soon as this tax season.
