President Joe Biden received a win for his economic agenda this week from an unlikely source — the Republican-led House of Representatives.
A bipartisan coalition of Republicans and Democrats overwhelmingly passed a $78 billion bill that expands the child tax credit and renews key business investment deductions. The bill was negotiated between House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and advances the key agenda for the Biden administration in expanding the child tax credit.
The legislation, which still must pass a vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate, increases the maximum refundable per child credit each year through 2025. For tax year 2023, it goes from $1,600 to $1,800, then rises to $1,900 in tax year 2024 and $2,000 for tax year 2025.
Biden has called for an expansion of the child tax credit, and the White House has signaled its support of the deal. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing last month that the administration was “pleased” that the bill would expand the child tax credit.
“This is for millions of families — millions of families. It’s going to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty and support construction of hundreds of thousands of affordable rental housing, as well, in that bipartisan agreement,” Jean-Pierre said last month. “So, it is a welcome step forward. And we believe Congress should pass it.”
The GOP helping pass a bill that advances one of the president’s agenda items in an election year has been a head-scratcher for some conservative critics, such as the Wall Street Journal editorial board, who questioned the “in-kind contribution” to Democrats’ 2024 pitch.
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“Democrats have signed on because they view the child-credit provisions as a down payment on a guaranteed annual income and want to boost flagging business investment this year. The political mystery is why Republicans want to add their signature,” the Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote on Thursday. “The tax bill negotiated by Democrat Ron Wyden and GOP Rep. Jason Smith is another in-kind contribution to the Democratic re-election campaign.”
House Republicans helping pass a bill expanding the child tax credit does come in contrast to stalled talks over a border security bill, after some have expressed concerns over reported details of the bill and others have allegedly worried how it could help Biden’s reelection effort.