Vance advocates for expanding child tax credit ‘it should be bigger’

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) said he believes the child tax credit should be expanded to more of what it has been under President Joe Biden’s administration.

When asked on CBS News’s Face the Nation if he agreed with Biden’s child tax credit, Vance said it “should be bigger.” The child tax credit is a tax break for parents with dependent children. 

“We should expand the child tax credit,” Vance said. “We think it should be bigger. I think President Trump and I agree in an expanded child tax credit, but we also, importantly, want to get this thing done.”

Vance also said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been unable to expand the child tax credit in the Senate. Earlier this month, Vance was absent from a Senate vote on expanding and preserving the child tax credit as he was in Arizona to visit the southern border. The majority of Senate Republicans did not vote in favor of the legislation.

When asked what a second Trump administration would do to expand the child tax credit, Vance said he would increase the dollar value to $5,000 per child and end surprise medical bills for parents.

“One of the things you can do is make it bigger per child; I think we’d love to see it at a higher dollar value … I mean, look, I’d love to see a child tax credit that’s $5,000 per child, you of course, have to work with Congress to see how possible and viable that is,” Vance said. 

“We’ve also proposed legislation, Margaret, to end this practice of parents getting these surprise medical bills when they go to the hospital, they have a baby, they chose an out-of-network provider, and they come home with unexpected bills,” Vance said.

He said his suggested $5,000 increase would be a “broad base,” and would apply to all families.

“I think you want it to apply to all American families. I don’t think that you want this massive cut-off for lower-income families, which you have right now. You don’t want a different policy for higher-income families. You just want to have a pro-family Child Tax Credit,” Vance said.

Vance also advocated for grandparents, who may be a child’s primary caretaker, to be allowed to utilize the child tax credit. When asked if gay families would be covered by Trump-Vance child-care policies, Vance said “All families would be included, of course.”