Rep. Courtney Votes for Tax Package to Provide Relief for Working Families, Small Businesses
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) voted to pass the bipartisan, bicameral Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024. The bill, which passed the House 357-70, will expand the Child Tax Credit and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, incentivize research and development, and support small businesses and the economic relationship between U.S. and Taiwan.
Courtney rose in support of the bill on the House Floor stating that, in spite of record low productivity in the House of Representatives, “it is our duty to try and find bipartisan measures that will help this country and address real problems for Americans. Westminster Tool [of Plainfield, Connecticut] has been a shining example” of why this bill is so important.
Courtney highlighted that companies like Westminster Tool—a family-owned manufacturing company which he recently visited—will benefit from the new research and development tax incentives in the bill. “This is a pro-growth measure which will allow companies like Westminster Tool to get back on track in terms of innovation which is so important for us to keep ahead of our global competitors, and again, create good, skilled jobs.”
On the Child Tax Credit, Courtney said: “This bill reinstates the Child Tax Credit which was wiped out after the American Rescue Plan expired. Again, this will take roughly half a million children out of poverty. We really have more work to do because the original version that was part of the American Rescue Plan Act actually cut child poverty in this country in half.” The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that the bill would benefit 16 million children in low-income families and “lift as many as 400,000 children above the poverty line” in its first year, with more even more set to benefit in 2025. In Connecticut’s Second Congressional District, 16,000 children are estimated to benefit from the expanded CTC in the first year.
On the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, Courtney said: “This bill expanded the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. We have a desperate need for more housing supply in this country and this will stimulate more investment by developers to build more housing. I want to be clear, those units that will benefit from this will be mixed income and will benefit working families and folks who are desperate to find affordable places to live.” Experts say that the expanded LIHTC will generate approximately 200,000 new homes nationwide.
Courtney concluded: “We could do more—there’s no question about it – but in this Congress we got to take ‘Ws’ where we can…”