Heinrich Blasts Senate Republicans for Blocking Tax Cuts for Children and Working Families

Legislation Heinrich voted to advance would have expanded Child Tax Credit payments for working families, boosted affordable housing

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked a tax package that would have expanded the Child Tax Credit for 16 million children, provided tax support for businesses to invest in research, development, and manufacturing, and more.

Heinrich voted to expand the Child Tax Credit in 2021 and has continued to push for a renewal of the expansion ever since, including through legislation he has introduced.

"Expanding the Child Tax Credit is one of the most powerful tools we have to put money back into the pockets of New Mexicans. It's inexcusable and downright shameful that Senate Republicans just blocked legislation that would have expanded the Child Tax Credit and benefited 140,000 children in New Mexico, who have been left behind by the current program. Our children deserve better," said Heinrich. "I will keep fighting to reinstate the fully expanded Child Tax Credit that Democrats passed in 2021 and lower costs for New Mexico's working families."

Specifically, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act would:

• Expand the Child Tax Credit for low-income families, making them eligible for a full $2,000 credit.

• Increase the supply of affordable housing by enhancing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the premier federal tax incentive for the construction of affordable housing.

• Provide tax relief to victims of disasters, including wildfires, by expanding casualty loss deductions and exempting certain compensation payments from income.

• Support innovation and small business with pro-growth economic policies, like R&D expensing.

The Child Tax Credit is an effective and powerful tool to significantly lower childhood poverty and improve the well-being of working families. The 2021 expanded Child Tax Credit lifted 2.9 million children out of poverty and analysis shows that had the tax credit expansion remained in effect, households' (with at least one child 17 or younger) median post-tax income would have been $2,607 higher in 2022.

Heinrich has been a committed champion for investing in early childhood education and the educator workforce, expanding affordable housing, and alleviating childcare costs for working families.

In 2014, Heinrich was the first member of the New Mexico Congressional Delegation to publicly support unlocking investments from the state's Land Grant Permanent Fund to sustainably support early childhood education. After the New Mexico Legislature and voters in the state passed the necessary state constitutional amendment to unlock these investments, Heinrich successfully led the effort to secure Congressional authorization of the amendment through his New Mexico Education Enhancement Act, which passed in the Omnibus Appropriations Agreement for Fiscal Year 2023.

This Congress, as Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, Heinrich released a report on the benefits of early childhood education and held a hearing to highlight the importance of investing in early education, featuring New Mexico Speaker of the House Javier Martínez as one of the witnesses.

Heinrich is also a cosponsor of the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act to alleviate childcare costs for working families. The legislation would permanently expand childcare tax credits by increasing the maximum credit amount to $4,000 perchild, automatically adjusted to keep pace with inflation, and ensure working families can benefit from the tax credit by making it refundable - allowing families to receive up to $8,000 each.

Last year, Heinrich introduced the Working Families Tax Relief Act to permanently expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

Heinrich recently announced the Senate Appropriations Committee's bipartisan, unanimous passage of the Fiscal Year 25 (FY25) Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Bill, which included a $3,000,000 Congressionally Directed Spending request by him and U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján for HELP New Mexico, Inc. to renovate classroom spaces to expand early childhood services in Luna County.

At a roundtable conversation with local educators in Albuquerque, Heinrich announced his Educator Down Payment Assistance Act, legislation designed to help more educators and school staff in New Mexico purchase a home, and keep teachers in the communities where they teach.

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