In Support of His Amendments to Reimburse Working Parents Up to $8,000 for Child Care,
Testimony of Congressman Danny K. Davis (As Prepared)
In Support of His Amendments to Reimburse Working Parents Up to $8,000 for Child Care,
Help Cost-Burdened Renters Earning Up to $100,000, Ensure Foundations Fund Charitable Giving Rather Than Tax Cuts for the Wealthy, and Give Tax Cuts to Workers Who Are Single, Noncustodial Parents, Aged 19 and Older, Seniors, Foster Youth, or Homeless
Committee on Rules Meeting on H.R. 1 – May 21, 2025
The Good Book teaches us to care for the least among us. My four amendments do just that.
For parents, child care is the work-related expense. My amendment would reimburse working parents up to $8,000 in child care costs. The meager, current maximum of $1,200 was set at the turn of this century. Now, the cost of center-based care for two children is more than the average annual rent in all 50 states. Yet, the Republican bill fails to directly help struggling parents with the crushing burden of child care. Instead, the bill gifts $731 million to businesses and ignores the tens of millions of working parents whose employers will never offer child care. And the small, temporary $500 bump in the Child Tax Credit excludes the poorest parents and is dwarfed by the $8,000 in relief offered by my amendment. If Republicans want parents to work, then you should accept my amendment.
My second amendment would provide life-changing help to hardworking, rent-burdened Americans earning up to $100,000. Rent unaffordability is at an all-time high with about half of all renters being cost-burdened - especially extremely low-income households, seniors, and rural Americans. My amendment would create a new tax credit for low- and middle-income renters that would cover a percentage of the gap between 30 percent of their adjusted gross income and their actual rent. For renters earning less than $25,000, the credit would cover the entire 30-percent-income-to-rent gap and then phase out. The Republican bill offers nothing to help struggling renters. Supporting my amendment would provide financial relief to tens of millions of Americans so they can thrive without fear of eviction.
My third amendment would provide a tax cut to tens of millions of low-income workers by enhancing the Earned Income Tax Credit. The EITC is a powerful tool to reduce poverty. Although the Republican bill gives an increased EITC for some purple-heart recipients, it ignores the vast majority of individual workers. Workers aged 65 and older represent one of the fastest-growing groups in our labor force. Millions of people younger than 24 serve in the labor force. My amendment gives permanent tax relief to seniors and younger workers by removing the EITC age cap and lowering the eligibility age to 19, while also enhancing the credit for all childless workers. Further, my amendment includes important flexibilities for foster and homeless youth. If the GOP bill can spend $211 billion on tax breaks for wealthy heirs, surely it can help vulnerable workers who are young, old, single, homeless, or foster youth.
My final amendment would strike the permanent tax hike on foundations that would rip $15.8 billion in charitable aid from our communities – aid that supports food banks, houses of faith, veterans, disaster relief, rural health care, emergency assistance during economic downturns, and other critical needs. Policies that hurt foundations reduce grantmaking to charitable nonprofits across the country. Forefront, the association of grantmakers for the state of Illinois, estimates that the proposed tax increase on private foundations would result in $168 million less in grants made to Illinois nonprofits each year. Charitable giving represents the best of American generosity. At the exact time when charitable giving and philanthropy are needed the most to offset the cuts in federal investment, Congress must strike this charity-reducing provision.
Government should help people, not harm them. My amendments would help lift the burdens of tens of millions of families and workers as well as promote charitable service. I hope you will support them.