Download Videos From the Roundtable HERE

(CTC Roundtable at Pikes Peak United Way)

Colorado Springs –– Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet hosted a roundtable discussion in Colorado Springs at Pikes Peak United Way with medical experts, community leaders, and parents about how Colorado families and kids are benefiting from the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC). 

“Today we heard about how the advanced Child Tax Credit payments are making an enormous difference in the lives of Colorado families,” said Bennet. “Over 90% of Colorado kids are benefitting from this expansion that’s helping parents cover medical bills and other expenses that are necessary for raising kids. We have an opportunity to lock in this expansion for years to come in the Build Back Better budget and we can’t waste it.”

“The pandemic really teased out some of the inequities within our health care system,” said Dr. Dave Steinbruner, Chief Medical Officer for UCHealth. “A tax credit for children is fundamental to taking these burdens off of parents and allowing them to provide for their children, their families, and their health.”

“I am a single mom, with three kids, and getting my own tax dollars back through the child tax credit, dollars I earned from working, allows me to meet the needs of my family and save a small amount for emergencies, while moving closer to the day I can move beyond government support services and make the choices that are right for my family,” said Ruth Burger, parent.

During the discussion, the participants shared their stories about how the advance monthly tax credit payments help families cover medical bills and other expenses as well as the need to make the CTC expansion permanent. 

Bennet has championed the expansion of the CTC for years. In March 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law a one-year expansion of the CTC, based on Bennet’s American Family Act, in the American Rescue Plan Act. This expansion has the potential to cut nationwide child poverty nearly in half this year and benefit 90% of American children.

In his American Families Plan, Biden proposed permanent full refundability of the CTC, as well as extending the enhanced CTC value and monthly payments through 2025. The president also committed to working with Congress to make the full, expanded CTC permanent. Bennet and his colleagues continue to push for a permanent expansion of the Child Tax Credit in the Build Back Better package.