Washington, D.C. — In case you missed it, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet delivered keynote remarks today on the success of the expanded Child Tax Credit at a virtual forum hosted by Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity and American Policy Ventures with support from the Doris Duke Foundation.

“Our country has one of the highest rates of childhood poverty... and we have one of the lowest rates of economic mobility, as well, in the developed world. That's a brutal combination for kids who are living in poverty, and it's their everyday reality,” said Bennet. “The poorest people in America are our children. And it turns out, there is something we can do about it. And we did. We passed the expanded Child Tax Credit.”

In his remarks, Bennet recommitted to pushing the Child Tax Credit expansion forward this year and highlighted the growing field of research, including the Baby’s First Years study that was highlighted today, that suggests that the monthly payments did not lead to a reduction in work and greatly reduced childhood poverty.

“Over the last few weeks, some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have said the Child Tax Credit is an area where we can find bipartisan agreement in a tax package later this year. I could not agree more. I've always said that I believe that at the end of the day, we're going to reach a bipartisan agreement on this. And my priority in that conversation and in that negotiation, is to make sure that the 19 million kids who are the poorest kids in our country who have been left out of this credit are able to receive it,” said Bennet. 

“The truth is that for generations, we have treated America's children in poverty like they were someone else's kids. I saw that every day that I was Superintendent of the Denver Public Schools,” concluded Bennet. “It's time to treat them like they're our own kids. And I want you to know that I am going to work with anybody to get this done.”

Bennet’s full remarks as delivered are available below.

I think our goal for this country should be to end child poverty in the United States. Our country has one of the highest rates of childhood poverty in the industrialized world, in the developed world. And we have one of the lowest rates of economic mobility, as well, in the developed world. That's a brutal combination for kids who are living in poverty, and it's their everyday reality. 

When I was a Superintendent of Denver Public Schools, I saw every day how growing up in poverty can shape a child's future in ways that are deeply, deeply unfair. Even when people agree child poverty is a problem. Many don't think there's anything the federal government could do about it. And I get that skepticism. 

This is a government that spent 20 years fighting two wars in the Middle East that we probably shouldn't have spent 20 years doing. You know, a government that has cut taxes by a trillion dollars, the vast majority of these tax cuts benefiting the wealthiest Americans at a time when we've had some of the worst income inequality that we've had since the 1920s. But for six brief shining months in 2021, we said to ourselves that we're not going to accept that amount of childhood poverty as a permanent feature of our democracy or a permanent feature of our economy, that there's something we can do to change it. And it's critically important. 

The U.S. ranks 38 out of 41 Developed Countries in child poverty. The poorest people in America are our children. And it turns out, there is something we can do about it. And we did. We passed the expanded Child Tax Credit. Experts from across the spectrum have looked at the expanded Child Tax Credit and here's what they found – and I think this is consistent with the findings you're going to be talking about today – it benefited 61 million kids or 90 percent of kids [in America], it helped cut childhood poverty nearly in half, it cut hunger by a quarter for families. And it achieved that with not a single additional bureaucrat or government agency. And parents in Colorado over and over again told me that they had spent the money in ways that supported their kids. 

But the other thing they said, the thing that was so consistent was that it dramatically reduced the stress in their households and made it easier for them to work and to stay at work. It made it easier for them to afford childcare and rent so they could stay at work. It was the best thing that we have done, in my view, for kids and families in generations. 

And people said it would never work. They said the IRS couldn't deploy the monthly payments, that we’d never reach the poorest people. Some said it would cause people to drop out of the American workforce. Experts from the Niskanen Center and the Dallas Federal Reserve all said that the monthly payments did not lead to a reduction in work, and that they had a huge effect on childhood poverty. And now we have the study from Baby’s First Years to add to this growing chorus of research that says this is a pro-family, pro-work, and I'd argue a pro-democracy policy. 

Unfortunately, we didn't extend this policy last year and now child poverty is rising again, hunger is rising. Food banks in Colorado tell me that they're seeing more people in line, even in a growing economy. And I've been here in the middle of the night, you know, when I've seen tax cuts expire for the wealthiest Americans and for the largest corporations, and we've been here [until] two in the morning to make sure that got done. But when it came to children, Washington just went home. 

And that's because - maybe - children have no lobbyists. And that's our job. And that's why I'm gonna keep fighting until we get this done. And I think we will.

Over the last few weeks, some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have said the Child Tax Credit is an area where we can find bipartisan agreement in a tax package later this year. I could not agree more. I've always said that I believe that at the end of the day, we're going to reach a bipartisan agreement on this. And my priority in that conversation and in that negotiation, is to make sure that the 19 million kids who are the poorest kids in our country who have been left out of this credit are able to receive it, are able to benefit from it.

The truth is that for generations, we have treated America's children in poverty like they were someone else's kids. I saw that every day that I was Superintendent of the Denver Public Schools. It's time to treat them like they're our own kids. And I want you to know that I am going to work with anybody to get this done.