Democrats aim for paid family leave and aid well beyond Biden’s expected plan
LA TimesRep. Richard Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, on Tuesday proposed a major expansion of government aid to families. The proposal by the head of the House’s tax-writing committee, Rep. Richard E. Neal, would go significantly further than the family assistance plan that President Biden is expected to release Wednesday in a speech to a joint session of Congress. A key element of Neal’s plan would make permanent the expansion of the child tax credit that Congress adopted for one year as part the $1.9-trillion COVID-19 relief bill in March. Asked about the congressional comments, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that Biden “agrees that the child tax credit has a huge impact on … reducing child poverty.” “There’s also a cost” involved in extending it, she added, “that is part of the discussion we expect to have with Congress moving forward.” Neal’s proposal would cost upward of $2 trillion over the next decade; Biden’s plan is expected to pencil out at just over $1.5 trillion, although final details remain in flux. Neal’s plan, which incorporates measures offered by other Democratic leaders, has two major pieces in addition to the permanent expansion of the child credit: a new paid family-leave plan and expanded aid for childcare.