Why boosting the Child Tax Credit has become a key issue for Harris, Trump

Norristown, Pennsylvania — If anyone knows how expensive it is to raise a child, it's Raegen Selden, an office manager in Norristown, Pennsylvania. She has raised six children who range in age from 12 to 25.

"I have two sons who are hungry every second, every minute of the day," Selden said. "I have daughters who would like to think that they eat dainty, but they don't."

Her family has always relied on the federal Child Tax Credit, first created in 1997, to help make ends meet. During the pandemic, the credit was boosted temporarily from $2,000 to $3,000 per child, and up to $3,600 for families with children under the age of 6.

The move helped cut U.S. child poverty by 46%, according to a 2022 report from the U.S. Census Bureau.

"Bills still needed to be paid and things still needed to be bought," Selden said. "And it was a comfort in knowing that you had this extra income."

It costs an estimated $310,000 to raise a child from birth to age 18, the Brookings Institution found in a 2022 report. One of the few things both presidential candidates agree on is that the Child Tax Credit should get a big boost.

Former President Donald Trump's campaign is proposing a $5,000 per child yearly tax credit. Vice President Kamala Harris is proposing a credit of up to $3,600 per child, with a bump to $6,000 for newborns.

Trump wants the credit to go to all families regardless of income, while Harris would restrict the credit to low and middle-income families only. She would also make the credit "refundable," meaning even parents who don't pay taxes would get the credit in cash.

"This is a really exciting moment," University of Maryland economics professor Melissa Kearney told CBS News. "…We have tons of evidence that supplementing the income of low-income families with children really meaningfully improves those children's lives. We see they do better in school. Their health outcomes are improved in ways that persist into their adulthood."

The cost has always been a sticking point. A bill to expand the credit failed in the Senate just last month.

Selden believes parents should receive a Child Tax Credit because their children "are taking care of our future."

"We want them to grow up to be great, productive citizens in this country," she added. "And it's like you can't do that if they can't eat."