Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
COLUMBUS, OH — Today, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined a virtual Child Tax Credit (CTC) roundtable with the For Our Future Ohio Education Fund and Ohio parents to discuss the importance of the CTC, as well as how important it is to pass a permanent extension of the CTC.
“We know how hard parents work to support their families. But for so many Ohioans, their hard work doesn’t pay off. Wages have been flat for decades, while the cost of everything is up – particularly the cost of raising kids,” said Brown. “CTC helps change that, and it empowers families.”
In March 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law a one-year expansion of the CTC in the American Rescue Plan. Nearly all families with children are eligible to receive the tax cut – including 92 percent of Ohio kids’ families — making it the largest tax cut ever for working families. As a part of the panel discussion, Brown listened to parents from across Ohio discuss their personal CTC stories.
“As a mother of four, the Child Tax Credit has been a huge help,” said Robin Robertson of Dayton. “With everything that’s going on from working to become homeowners to raising three teenagers and an infant, there are a lot of unexpected expenses. That’s why I’m grateful for the CTC — it is providing needed assistance to make sure our family has a stable home environment and to be able to care for our children without having to struggle as much financially.”
“For me, child care is the most important consideration I have. The Child Tax Credit put that within reach for us. Now, it’s so much easier for my partner and me to find work,” Tim Heishman of Kettering explained. “For the first time as a parent, I feel like the government has my back.”
Families began automatically receiving monthly CTC payments of up to $300 per child in July.
“Thanks to Senator Brown’s leadership in Congress, working Ohioans and kids are directly benefiting from the expanded Child Tax Credit,” said Daniel van Hoogstraten, State Director of For Our Future Education Fund. “Today’s panel of Ohio parents was not just a powerful example of how the expanded CTC is helping families gain economic stability and improve their lives, but it was also an important reminder that Congress should follow Senator Brown’s lead and work to make the expansion permanent.
Brown is leading the effort in Congress to extend the Rescue Plan expansions of the CTC in the upcoming family infrastructure bill.
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