With consumer prices rising by an annualized rate of more than 8% last month, hard-working people across the country are feeling inflation’s sting. Sharply rising food prices coupled with pain at the pump mean we’re now paying more for basic goods and services than ever before. And higher prices don’t just mean more money out of pocket for gas and groceries: inflation hits working families hardest. Nationwide, households are spending a higher percentage of their incomes on food, and that, coupled with widespread shortages of baby formula, means many parents are facing extreme hardship to feed their families.
Unfortunately, many of my colleagues across the aisle continue to fail the public by denying Democrats’ responsibility for rising prices. In a recent speech at the White House, President Joe Biden blamed everyone but himself for skyrocketing costs, ignoring the fact that his party’s trillions of dollars in wasteful government spending have driven prices ever higher while leaving behind those struggling to make ends meet. Despite the fact the average person will have to spend over $400 extra per month because of inflation, Democrats voted for reckless pandemic-era spending that funded luxury hotels, golf courses, and ski resorts. Now, everyone is paying the price.
Partisan politics won’t fix our economic crisis, and the public deserves better.
When it comes to helping families, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. The child tax credit is a proven policy that puts money back into the pockets of parents across the country. First created by the GOP and passed with bipartisan support in 1997, the CTC was expanded under President George W. Bush and doubled under the Trump administration as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. And regardless of party-line agendas, the CTC is itself a fundamentally bipartisan policy that’s broadly popular with most people. Moreover, it supports children and families without expanding a wasteful federal bureaucracy, instead providing direct tax relief to parents — allowing them to decide what their family needs, and when.
In 2021, there was bipartisan support for a stand-alone CTC that would have promoted work, encouraged fiscal responsibility, and given parents the freedom of choice to raise their children in accordance with their values. Instead, Democrats refused to compromise and kowtowed to the radical Left, tanking their party’s signature legislative proposal and leaving hard-working people to foot the bill for rising inflation.
It is incumbent upon Congress to get it right. There are conservatives, including myself, who are ready to work on a bipartisan, targeted, and fiscally responsible CTC. We know that this program, with necessary updates and guardrails, would help ensure that millions struggling with the effects of inflation are able to put food on the table and move from welfare to work.
So instead of high-end hotels and arenas, let’s invest in working families.
As outlined in a letter I led with several of my Republican colleagues, there are three key principles I believe should guide the development of a bipartisan CTC bill. First, it must be fiscally responsible. The CTC should be revised to a level that best supports working families without raising government spending. The long-term credit should be focused on supporting people with the everyday costs associated with raising families — particularly infants and younger children.
Second, it must incentivize employment and work. By severing the CTC’s well-established connection to work, the Biden administration dramatically changed the program without regard for possible negative effects on wider labor force participation. A bipartisan bill should therefore find ways to incentivize families to work while also preserving the choice to care for their children. An effective CTC should include a strong work connection that encourages and upholds the dignity of work without becoming overly bureaucratic and difficult to implement.
Third, it must be dispersed to recipients through an advanced monthly transfer. A key element of the expanded CTC that ought to be continued and improved on, especially with the reintroduction of a work incentive, is the advance monthly transfer of the credit. In contrast with annual lump-sum payments, monthly transfers of the CTC would allow families to more effectively incorporate the credit into their day-to-day budgeting, making it significantly more likely that the credit would be spent on such everyday needs as food and childcare.
With these principles in place, a revised CTC has the potential to become one of America’s strongest tools for helping families and encouraging work. And by setting the stage for continued bipartisan negotiations, an expanded CTC might lead to breakthroughs in other areas, too. As people struggle with the effects of inflation, it is critical that this important policy is extended and that lawmakers set aside partisan differences and come together to negotiate a CTC that effectively meets the needs and concerns of working families.
Let’s get it done. It’s time we show the people the kind of conservative, commonsense leadership they deserve.
Rep. Peter Meijer represents Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
