WASHINGTON — Congress, which has been setting records for a lack of accomplishments, may be on the verge of actually doing something big: passing a bill that could lift half a million kids out of poverty by next year.
The proposal, which the House could vote on as soon as next week, involves an expanded tax credit for parents of children 16 and younger.
If that rings a bell, congratulations, you’ve been paying attention. The proposed credit is a scaled-down version of a plan that passed during President Biden‘s first year in office but lasted only a year.
Reviving some version of that has been a top priority of congressional Democrats ever since.
Earlier this month, the chairs of Congress’ two tax-writing committees, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Republican Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri, struck a deal to make it happen.
Their proposal then won approval of the Republican-controlled House Ways and Means Committee, 40-3 — the sort of bipartisan vote that’s now rare in Washington.
This being Congress, it’s possible the deal could fall apart. Some House members threaten to oppose it over an unrelated tax issue. In the Senate, some conservative Republicans don’t like expanding the child tax credit on ideological grounds. But the lopsided vote in the House tax-writing committee indicated the bill has a strong chance of approval. That’s a rare advance in a stalemated Congress.
