Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said that he will be pushing to increase the size of the child tax credit in the Senate beyond what the House included in the version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act it passed.
Hawley, long an advocate for a bigger child tax credit, told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday that he would like to double the $2,500 that was included in the House legislation.
“I’d like to take it to $5,000, but any incremental increase would be tremendous,” Hawley said.
Hawley said he isn’t sure whether there is enough support in the Senate to get the child tax credit increased beyond the House levels, but said he wants to give working class people real tax cuts.
“And the child tax credit, which is just really a child tax cut, is the best way to do that,” Hawley added.
The child tax credit was increased as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to the $2,000 level it is this year.
The House-passed bill would raise the child tax credit to $2,500 through 2028. The increase to $2,500 is essentially an inflation adjustment, given that’s about how much the credit would need to be to have the same purchasing power as when it was doubled to $2,000 as part of the 2017 tax cuts.
The House version of the legislation doesn’t include funding for a “baby bonus” — essentially giving money to parents of newborns in a bid to help parents and incentivize family creation. Some lawmakers have pushed for such baby bonuses.
For instance, Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) introduced legislation earlier this year that would boost the credit and create a $2,800 tax credit for pregnant mothers.
Also, some pro-family advocates were disappointed that the Republican tax bill included new “Trump” savings accounts instead of greater enhancements to the child tax credit.
The Trump accounts would be funded through the Treasury Department, with a $1,000 credit for U.S. citizens born from 2025 through 2028. Parents and families could then contribute up to $5,000 per year to those MAGA accounts.
The beneficiaries will not be permitted to pull from their MAGA accounts until they turn 18. At that time, they can withdraw up to half of the funds only for higher education costs, training programs, small business loans, or first-time home purchases.
At age 25, the account holder can withdraw any and all funds from the account, but only to be used for the same reasons. At 30, the funds may be withdrawn and used however the account holder wants with no limitations.
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Hawley told the Washington Examiner last month that he was not too enthusiastic about the new accounts.
“That’s not my favorite proposal, to be honest with you … when you can’t touch it,” Hawley said. “Why not give people a tax cut? It’s also … you’re going to just give people money, but it’s not that you get it now. I don’t know, it seems a little strange to me.”