Issues

Economic Security and Rising Costs for Families

Our economy is facing real challenges. While wages are rising and unemployment is low, inflation is eroding the economic stability of families across our district. We all feel it at the gas pump. We’ve all seen empty shelves at the grocery store. I believe people who work hard should be compensated fairly so they can support themselves and their families.  

To strengthen the middle class and help our economy rebound from the COVID-19 recession we must create an economy that works for everyone. This means helping our small businesses and local industries rebuild so they can support good-paying jobs for years to come, including aerospace, manufacturing, high-tech, sustainable agriculture, clean energy, and health care. We must support businesses that are creating jobs and invest in the training, education, and skills of our workers to ensure they are prepared for success. This has been a long-term commitment of mine as I secured $200 million to expand job training opportunities in my first term in Congress. 

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed many vulnerabilities in our global supply chains. These supply chain flaws have led to backlogs at our ports and rising costs for families as the supply of goods has struggled to meet the surging demand of our economic recovery. This is a global issue but one we can start to address here at home by tackling the structural issues that got us here. We can do so by rapidly building more resilient and trusted supply chains, lowering food costs by investing in American agriculture, increasing affordable housing, and reducing costly international trade barriers. I support competition legislation that will do just that. My priority is to support a strong and inclusive economy and restore stability and prosperity.  

Child Tax Credit 

From a lack of paid leave after a child is born to the prohibitive cost of child care — in America, folks with kids just don’t receive the kind of support they need. We’re failing parents, caregivers, and families. That’s why Suzan DelBene has been leading the fight to expand the Child Tax Credit — and why she was proud to see that expansion included in President Biden’s American Rescue Act.

No child should live in poverty in our country. No parent should have to go hungry to make sure their child gets enough to eat. It’s in our power to reduce child poverty and support families who are struggling, and the expanded Child Tax Credit will help. Checks begin to go out on July 15th. But the expanded credit is only in place for a year. To help kids and their families to thrive, and to cut child poverty across the country in half, we need to make this expansion permanent.

Resources:  
  • Add your name in support of a permanent Child Tax Credit expansion
  • Share my video about the Child Tax Credit
  • Join me on Facebook Live, July 15th for a Q&A session on the Child Tax Credit
  • Child Tax Credit in the news
  • Sign up to receive updates on this and other important issues from my campaign
  • Click here for more information on the Child Tax Credit

Tax Reform 

As a member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, I have prioritized modernizing the tax code and creating policies that are fair for all Americans and give businesses the ability to plan for the future. I champion efforts that provide tax relief for the middle-class including the enhanced Child Tax Credit. The enhanced child tax credit was included in the American Rescue Plan, and provided families with monthly checks for 6 months and lifted 3.7 million kids out of poverty. I am also the lead sponsor of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, which would create or preserve more than 2 million affordable housing units nationwide in the next decade and address the growing housing crisis. Further, I worked with my colleagues to draft the GREEN Act which l is part of a comprehensive approach to combat climate change using the tax code to incentivize renewable energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

 

Comprehensive tax reform is about creating policies that are fair for all Americans and give businesses the ability to plan for the future. Tax policy should be about growing the middle class and providing economic opportunity. Through a modernized tax code, we can also invest resources here in America, encouraging job creation and innovation. Congress should focus on simplifying our tax code by eliminating inefficient and unfair tax breaks and subsidies that don’t make sense in today’s global economy. Any time our federal government offers a tax break or subsidy, we should consider it as an expense and evaluate whether we are getting an adequate return on investment. We must also stop governing retroactively and with short-term policies that Congress must extend each year. Families and businesses need predictability and stability.