Sen. Wyden stops in Eugene to make case for child tax credit bill

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., held a press conference in Eugene Wednesday to make the case for the federal child tax credit he's been promoting in the Senate.

The bill, negotiated by Wyden, chair of the Senate Finance Committee and Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., chair of the equivalent committee in the House, passed the House in January with bipartisan support but has stalled in the Senate.

If passed, the bill would apply to 2023 taxes and would increase the maximum refund per child from its current value of $1,600 per child per year to $1,800 per child in 2023, $1,900 plus inflation per child in 2024 and $2,000 plus inflation per child in 2025.

Hank Stern, Oregon press secretary for Wyden, also told the Register-Guard that in practice "the vast majority of low-income families with more than one kid can only claim the credit once no matter how many kids they have," which the bill seeks to change.

The tax breaks in the agreement would be paid for by eliminating the employee retention tax credit. That was a pandemic-era provision to help businesses keep employees on payroll but has since been found to be rife with fraud.

It would also create tax benefits for people impacted by natural disasters and strengthen the low-income housing tax credit. The bill is also set up to extend tax breaks for businesses through 2025 and implement benefits to support trade with Taiwan.

Wyden primarily talked about the child tax credit portion of the bill, saying it would help parents cope with the high cost of living and reduce child poverty, alluding to the temporary tax credit Congress passed in 2021 that led to payments of up to $300 per month for children five and under and $250 per month for children six and over.

"In 2021, we had it for a year," Wyden told reporters. "The child poverty rate went down dramatically. Food insecurity went down something like 20%. Child poverty was cut nearly in half, and tragically after that one year on child tax credit boost, 5 million kids returned to poverty in 2022."

Wyden invited parents to the press conference, saying their stories helped counter the argument he'd heard from opponents of the measure that increasing the tax credit would discourage people from working.

"I am a disabled single mom," Lizz Rock, a parent of a child enrolled at Head Start of Lane County, told reporters. "I tried to work last year full time, trying to contribute to society, trying to make a better life for my kids. But I was told that I was making too much to still receive my section eight. … I need the child tax credit, just to be able to save in case there is a problem."

Legislation tracking website GovTrack gave the bill a 34% chance of passing, but Wyden told reporters he is working hard to get the bill to a vote.

"We know it's going to be tough, but I believe we're developing real momentum," he said.

Wyden said he was optimistic that the town halls other senators are holding during the current recess would improve the bill's chances. "They're getting questions at home: What's the holdup?"

Wyden said the main obstacle he's encountered has been a desire to wait until after the 2024 elections. "A lot of senators are saying … maybe we should do it in 2025," Wyden told reporters. "They're pointing to after the election because they think they're going to be in charge."

While he's aiming to get the bill through in the next three weeks, "people can't wait," Wyden said.

In the State of the Union address earlier this month, President Joe Biden said he supported expanding the child tax credit to 2021 levels.

Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached over email at atorres@registerguard.com or on X @alanfryetorres.

This story includes reporting from USA Today congressional reporters Riley Beggin and Ken Tran.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Sen. Wyden says he's aiming to pass child tax credit this April