Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Foster Care Tax Credit Act, with my colleague Senator Jones. Enacting this bill would go a long way towards helping families with the expenses that come with taking in and providing homes for foster children.

Currently, foster families are only eligible for the Child Tax Credit if the same child lives with them for at least six months. Many foster families take in children for shorter periods, and sometimes take in multiple different children throughout the year. Even if these placements add up to more than six months, these families are potentially not eligible for the tax credit. Further, state funding for foster care families often fails to cover the cost of meeting the child's basic needs.

The Foster Care Tax Credit Act would create a new refundable tax credit targeted at these families that take in foster children but are not eligible for the Child Tax Credit. The tax credit would help ease the financial strain that many of these families face. Further, the bill instructs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and Secretary of the Treasury to conduct outreach to state and tribal agencies to better educate foster families about provisions of the tax code that may benefit them.

I hope my colleagues will support this bill to provide assistance to families who have chosen to offer a loving home for children who need it most.

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