Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) is announcing that the Senate cleared a hurdle in the budget reconciliation process, moving one step closer to passing once-in-a-generation investments in American workers, families, children, seniors and people with disabilities.
“On the heels of passing bipartisan infrastructure legislation, this morning, the Senate took an important step to invest in American families by moving forward in the budget reconciliation process,” said Senator Casey. “The COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis has made it even clearer that working families are struggling in an economy that has been rigged against them. This budget resolution will allow for historic investments in workers, children and families through tax breaks for families with children, paid family and medical leave, expanded Medicare coverage, universal pre-K, funding to fight climate change and better wages for workers. It will also allow for the passage of my Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act to help families afford child care, as well as my Better Care Better Jobs Act, which would expand access to home and community-based care for seniors and people with disabilities, create more than a half a million home care jobs and raise wages for this essential workforce. I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill over the finish line and deliver for the American people.”
On June 24, 2021, Senator Casey introduced the Better Care Better Jobs Act, building on President Biden’s American Jobs Plan to invest in home and community-based services for seniors and people with disabilities and ensure home care workers make a living wage. Senator Casey’s proposal is supported by more than three-quarters of Americans, including 66% of Republicans.
Senator Casey’s Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act would expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit to help families afford child care. The bill increases the value of the credit and will cover up to half the cost of childcare, with a maximum credit of $4,000 per child (age 0-13), up to $8,000. If enacted, this proposal will increase employment rates and the earnings of parents, and reduce child poverty.
Read the Senate Budget Committee’s FY2022 Budget Reconciliation instructions here.
