For the week ending July 31
EXPANDING TAX CREDITS FOR CHILD CARE: Voting 250 for and 161 against, the House on July 29 passed a bill (HR 7327) that would make the child and dependent care tax credit fully refundable; create a new tax credit to help child care providers pay rent, mortgage and utility costs; guarantee $10 billion per year over five years in infrastructure grants to help child care centers address health hazards such as mold, lead paint and inadequate ventilation; designate child care personnel as “essential workers” eligible for benefits including pay bumps because they perform a hazardous public service during the pandemic; and reimburse these essential workers for their own child care costs. At present, households filing federal tax returns can claim a child and dependent care credit of up to $3,000 per child 12 years or younger, or $6,000 for two or more children in the same age range. In addition, they can claim a $3,000 or $6,000 credit to offset the cost of caring for spouses or dependents older than 12 who are mentally or physically incapable of self-care. By making these credits fully refundable, the bill enables low-income working families to receive Treasury checks of $3,000 per qualified individual (or $6,000 for multiple individuals) even if they have no tax liability.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
YES: Deb Haaland, D-1, Xochitl Torres Small, D-2, Ben Ray Luján, D-3
PROVIDING $50 BILLION FOR CHILD CARE: Voting 249 for and 163 against, the House on July 29 passed a bill (HR 7027) that would appropriate $50 billion in fiscal 2020 to help child care providers stay in business during the pandemic so that parents can return to work. The funding would be used to subsidize in-home services as well as licensed child care operations of all sizes, and it could be used to prop up functioning centers or reopen those forced to close because of the pandemic.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
YES: Haaland, Torres Small, Luján
DEFEATING GOP CHILD CARE ALTERNATIVE: Voting 195 for and 212 against, the House on July 29 defeated a package of proposed changes to HR 7027 (above) that sought, in part, to qualify unlicensed child care sites run by churches and public camps to receive grants under the bill, and require grant recipients to demonstrate competence in recognizing and addressing child abuse.
A yes vote was to approve the GOP child care plan.
YES: Torres Small
NO: Haaland, Luján
DEFUNDING AFFORDABLE CARE ACT LITIGATION: The House on July 30 voted, 234 for and 181 against, to deny funding of the Department of Justice’s participation in a lawsuit brought by Republican governors and attorneys general to overturn the Affordable Care Act. The suit is pending before the Supreme Court, and the Trump administration has filed a brief calling for the law to be struck down. The defunding language was added to a bill (HR 7617), later passed, that would appropriate $33.2 billion for the department along with more than $1 trillion to fund the budgets of numerous other Cabinet departments and agencies in fiscal 2021.
A yes vote was to block the funding.
YES: Haaland, Torres Small, Luján
CONFIRMING TRUMP BUDGET OFFICIAL: Voting 71 for and 21 against, the Senate on July 30 confirmed Derek Tai-Ching Kan as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, putting him second in command of an agency that directs budget and regulatory policies for the White House. Kan joined the administration in 2017 to serve as a Department of Transportation undersecretary, and before that he was an Amtrak board member and executive with the Lyft transportation company.
A yes vote was to confirm the nominee.
NO: Tom Udall, D, Martin Heinrich, D
HOUSE Deb Haaland (D) Ben Ray Luján (D) Xochitl Torres Small (D)
SENATE Martin Heinrich (D) Tom Udall (D)
Contact your legislators at the U.S. Capitol
Zip codes: House 20515, Senate 20510
Capitol operator: (202) 224-3121
