Pascrell, Walorski, Panetta, Schweikert Introduce Bill to Help New Parents Receive CARES Act Stimulus Checks This Year

Statement

Today, U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), Jackie Walorski (R-IN-02), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-20), and David Schweikert (R-AZ-06) introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure new parents quickly receive the additional $500 per child payment provided by the CARES Act. Currently, parents of children born or adopted on or after January 1, 2020, must wait until they file taxes in calendar year 2021 to receive those payments due to eligibility for the additional $500 per child being based on existing Child Tax Credit (CTC) rules. Pascrell's legislation is identical to legislation (S. 3679) introduced by U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Tim Scott (R-SC) that would waive the existing CTC rules and require the Internal Revenue Service to develop a system to provide payments to families with newborns or adopted children once a Social Security Number is assigned to the child.

"Amid a growing pandemic and with the regular stresses of parenthood, new parents have enough to worry about. They should not have to wait for money they are due from our CARES Act. The legislation we are introducing today will ensure that they can collect every cent they are owed without having to wait until next year," said Rep. Pascrell. "I want to thank our Senate partners Tammy Duckworth and Tim Scott for their leadership on this important issue. Now more than ever Congress must support families with newborn babies and adopted children, especially those experiencing economic hardship due to COVID-19. As we are fighting for another round of support for Americans, I know families cannot wait until next year to receive what they are rightfully due. That's why we're introducing this bipartisan legislation today. We must get these payments into the hands of families who need them most."

"Direct payments under the CARES Act have provided critical lifelines to Americans during this unprecedented crisis, but new parents shouldn't have to wait until next year to receive the full benefit," Rep. Walorski said. "Ensuring parents of newborns receive their full payment as soon as possible is a commonsense way to help these young families thrive."

"New parents face unique challenges, in addition to the huge financial strain this pandemic is having on all families across our country. Unfortunately, new parents are not able to get relief funding for their newborns through the CARES Act since it uses information from 2019 tax returns that doesn't include children born in 2020," said Rep. Panetta. "Our bipartisan legislation will ensure that the parents of newborns are able to receive this benefit now. The birth of a child should be a time of joy for families. Our government can help those families by ensuring they get the necessary help to get through this pandemic."

"It is crucial that we in Congress work together to provide the support families need during these unprecedented times. New parents have already been faced with the challenge of welcoming home a child in the midst of a pandemic. By ensuring the $500 economic impact payments for children from the CARES Act are distributed earlier than next year's tax filing season, we can help provide timely resources to the parents who need them the most. I am pleased to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to provide these resources to parents as soon as possible" said Rep. Schweikert.

As New Jersey's only member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Pascrell regularly pushes to increase federal support for middle- and working-class families. In January, Pascrell spoke out in vehement support of strengthening paid family and medical leave policies offered to working American families. He is an original cosponsor of H.R. 1185, the FAMILY Act, which would provide workers with comprehensive paid family and medical leave. He is also a supporter of H.R. 3298, the Child Care Quality and Access Act, which would increase funding by $1 billion for the Child Care Entitlement to States (CCES) -- the mandatory component of the Child Care and Development Block Grant program, and H.R. 3845, the Economic Mobility Act, which included a provision that would make the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit fully refundable to ensure it is available to low- and middle-income families with a lower or no tax liability.