Ways and Means Committee Advances Larson-backed Bill to Expand Tax Relief for Early Childhood Educators

"Rather than passing tax breaks for the wealthy, we should be offering relief to the middle-class workers trying to make ends meet," said Larson. "I was pleased to advance this bipartisan bill to support our early childhood educators, who deserve the same recognition and tax fairness as other teachers. While this is a step forward, we need to ensure that every child in America can have a strong start. I urge my colleagues to take up our American Affordability Act, which not only includes this common-sense proposal but also cuts taxes to help working families afford childcare costs and keep up with rising household expenses."

After unanimously passing out of the Ways and Means Committee, the SEED Act, which expands the $300 teacher expense tax deduction to include early childhood educator, will advance to the House floor for a vote. In addition to this provision, Larson, Thompson, and Neal's American Affordability Actalso restores the expanded Child Tax Credit for working parents, providing monthly payments of $300 for each child over the age of six and $360 for each child under the age of six, creates a new $5,000 refundable tax credit to cover startup costs needed to open family childcare centers, creates a new tax credit to support working family caregivers, and increases the maximum dependent care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) contribution from $7,500 to $10,000.

View a full transcript of Rep. Larson's remarks below:

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First, let me commend, Representative Fitzpatrick and Representative Panetta for this legislation. It's outstanding. And I want to associate myself with the remarks of Mr. Kelly.

"Early on in my career, I had the great opportunity to work with Dr. Edward Zigler. Dr. Zigler founded and was part of the Yale Center for Child Development and Social Policy. He is commonly referred to as the 'Father of Head Start.' And what Dr. Zigler's work helped do is bring attention to what happens to children between birth and going to kindergarten and the developmental stages that they go through.

"So, it kind of aligns itself in what Mr. Kelly was talking about earlier as, as well. And it makes this work, especially not only for the teachers in our system, but also for the parents that are struggling while they have to work one and two jobs and to find childcare for their children. Zigler's concept was, 'Why don't we utilize existing public schools on bus routes that are safe, can already been constructed, and a way in which parents would have the notion that their kids were being taken care of... and with studies, and also with the appropriate academic focus. And I say academic, even for a one-year-old, is vitally important.

"So, I want to commend both Mr. Panetta and Mr. Fitzpatrick for their efforts. And also add that, I think it would be important for this committee as well to take up Mr. Thompson's Affordability Act because the SEED Act is preserved in that. And as several of you have noted on both sides, it needs to be enhanced. We need to make sure that teachers who are reaching into their own pockets to pay for things that will only help and assist future generations, is something we should grasp together. So, I want to commend Jimmy Panetta, and I want to commend our colleagues, Mr. Fitzpatrick and Kelly and Mr. Thompson, and hopefully we can all work together to get this done. I yield back."