Letter to Congress: Restore Enhanced Child Tax Credit

March 15, 2022

Dear Members of Congress:

ReadyNation is a national, bipartisan business network of current and former executives focused on strengthening workforce development and the economy through the promotion of smart investments in America’s children and youth. As the co-chairs of the ReadyNation CEO Task Force on Early Childhood, we urge Congress to act decisively now to address one of the biggest barriers to economic recovery and growth: lack of affordable, quality child care, especially for infants and toddlers.

Now is the time to pass bipartisan, comprehensive, sustainable reforms to our nation’s child care system. We must come together to support children, families, and business innovation through increased public investments to help solve the ongoing child care crisis.

Quality child care is out of reach for many families. Even when it is available, it’s often unaffordable, with center-based care for infants costing more than in-state college tuition and fees in 34 states and the District of Columbia.

In addition, the Center on Poverty & Social Policy at Columbia University shared that the monthly child poverty rate rose from 12.1 percent in December 2021 to 17 percent in January 2022. The increase represents 3.7 million more children in poverty in January as a result of the absence of the monthly Child Tax Credit payment.

Congress must act to restore the enhanced CTC, which expired on January 1, 2022. Before the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act, 27 million children (including approximately half of all Black, Latino, and rural children) did not receive the maximum credit, because their parents did not earn enough to incur tax liability. However, families with higher incomes received the full amount, because their incomes were above the tax liability threshold. A renewed refundability of the CTC will allow lower-income families to receive the full amount for which they are eligible, regardless of the amount of taxes they pay.

Thank you for your attention to this critical issue.

Sincerely,

Please Note: Below signatories lend their names in an individual capacity, not as a company representation. Company/organization names are included for information purposes only.

ReadyNation CEO Task Force on Early Childhood Co-Chairs:

Jack Brennan
Chairman Emeritus and Senior Advisor
Vanguard

Maxine Clark
Founder and former CEO
Build-A-Bear Workshop

Hugh Welsh
President
DSM North America