VP Kamala Harris Visits Pittsburgh, Touts Child Tax Credit

PITTSBURGH, PA —Vice President visited Pittsburgh Monday, stopping at a Brookline recreation center to discuss the child tax credit and then going to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers headquarters in the South Side for a roundtable discussion on labor issues.

Harris said in Brookline that the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion latest pandemic relief package passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in March, would benefit 140,000 families in Pennsylvania.

Harris said the administration is now attempting to publicize the expanded tax credit available for 2021. The expansion from $2,000 to $3,000 (or $3,600 for children under the age of 6) will make a big difference for families.

“That could cover a month of rent, a few months of groceries, an entire year of groceries,” she said, according to a White House transcript of her remarks.

Harris said she often is asked what the most joyful thing has been for her since she became vice president in January.

"And every time, I tell them exactly what it is: The proudest moment that I have experienced in this position was when President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law," she said.

"And I'll tell you why: Because through tax credits and food assistance and housing assistance and health care coverage and direct checks, the American Rescue Plan -- and here's the drumroll -- the American Rescue Plan will lift half of America's children out of poverty."

Harris also noted that families will get the credit monthly rather than as a lump sum once a year to help pay bills as they come.

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, who accompanied Harris to Pittsburgh,said the American Rescue Plan, American Rescue Plan, the latest pandemic relief package passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in March, will provide states with $39 billion to meet childcare needs. The proposed American Jobs plan would invest even more.

According to the pool report, Walsh said the recuse plan is highlighted by universal pre-kindergarten, the right to organize for home health workers and 12 weeks of paid family leave for every working person.

“Caregiving is the work that stands up the rest of the economy,” he said. “Caregiving is so important, it’s the foundation.”

“American Rescue Plan is a strong down payment.”