Press Release

The historic expansion of the Child Tax Credit passed by Democrats in Congress and without the support of a single Minnesota Republican will substantially reduce poverty for about 43,000 children in Minnesota. Now, President Biden and congressional Democrats are poised to make this life-changing provision permanent with the passage of the American Families Plan.

Right now, the program is only written to last through the end of 2021. The American Families Plan would make the expanded Child Tax Credit available for at least the next four years, locking in these benefits for years to come. The numbers below help to show what passing the American Families Plan and making the expanded child tax credit permanent would mean for Minnesota families:

• There are 68,000 children under the age of 18 in Minnesota who are considered poor. The American Families Plan will bolster financial security and spur economic growth in Minnesota by reducing taxes on the middle class and those striving to break into it.
• Under the America Families Plan, the American Rescue Plan’s Child Tax Credit increases to $3,000 per child 6-years old and above and $3,600 per child under 6.
• This expanded child tax credit will provide families across Minnesota with an extra cushion while benefiting 1,122,000 children in Minnesota, including 362,000 children of color.
• The proposal is estimated to lift 43,000 children out of poverty in Minnesota, reducing child poverty in the state by 48 percent. Nationwide, making the expanded CTC permanent would cut child poverty roughly in half.

“Minnesotans know that we need to build on the progress made by the American Rescue Plan so that no one is left behind in this recovery,” said DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin. “The American Families Plan will help families cover the basic expenses that so many struggle with now, and continue the American Rescue Plan’s historic reductions in child poverty. Congress must come together and deliver the change many families in Minnesota so desperately need by making President Biden’s child tax credit a permanent poverty-fighting tool. If Minnesota Republicans once again refuse to extend the child tax credit after voting to cut taxes for corporations and the wealthiest Americans, then it’s even more clear they have no business representing our state in Congress.”