Helping Young Mothers

Floor Speech

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Mr. CASTEN. Madam Speaker, earlier this month I visited Teen Parent Connection in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. It is an organization that serves young mothers, offering everything from diapers and formula, to doulas, counseling, and domestic abuse support services.

They were extremely grateful for the recent $1,400 economic impact payments that, in many cases, helped these new moms cover critical expenses like housing, food, and healthcare. But as we talked, it became apparent that they were not taking advantage and didn't even know about the larger $3,600 per child Child Tax Credit. And why would they? These are new moms that have never filed taxes before. They don't follow the tax policy changes nearly as closely as we do here in the Capitol, but here is this fantastic need.

Our office is now working to connect them with free tax filing services, but to the rest of American parents--young and old--please make sure to take advantage of this program. Even if you don't have any taxes due, the credit is fully refundable, and once you file, we will start sending checks to 70 million American families on July 1.

This tax credit will cut child poverty in half, help close the racial wealth gap, and help ensure more kids can live up to their full potential. In Illinois alone, it will lift 153,000 children out of poverty. It is, in short, a really big deal.

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