Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released the following statement on President Biden’s American Family Plan:
“President Biden has laid out a proposal to make historic investments in the American people, laser focused on improving the lives of working families.
“I pushed the Biden administration to support an overhaul of the unemployment insurance system, and I’m pleased to see the president do so. The system has been broken for decades. Not only did we fail to fix it after the Great Recession, state after state sabotaged their unemployment insurance systems by making benefits as hard as possible to access. As we’ve seen, it’s much harder for the unemployment system to work in a crisis when it’s been neglected and sabotaged. We can’t fail again to fix and update it in the wake of the second economic crisis in 10 years. It’s especially important because we’re already seeing the start of another race to the bottom. This is a top priority of mine as we move forward.
“This proposal would extend Democrats’ expansions of the child and earned income tax credits, which have the potential to transform the lives of a generation of children and workers. My goal is a permanent extension of these credits, and I will be fighting for as long of an extension as we can pass through the Senate.
“This plan has critical investments in health care that will make high quality health insurance more affordable and accessible for millions of families. Extending tax credits to buy health coverage is key to fulfilling the promise of the Affordable Care Act. It’s long past time to deliver affordable health coverage for all and lower prescription drug prices for seniors and families that are paying too much at the pharmacy counter.
“I’m also happy to see a significant investment in child care and paid leave. If we want to fully recover from the economic catastrophe of the last year, America needs to invest in working families — especially working mothers who have been forced to leave the workforce during the pandemic. This is a welcome commitment, and I look forward to working with the Biden administration to make sure this plan is enough to reach all families.
“Paying for these critical investments and rebuilding our economy so it works for all Americans starts with fixing our broken tax code and ensuring millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share. If you’re a nurse taking care of COVID patients, you can’t defer paying your taxes. But if you’re high flier, you can defer, pay far lower tax rates than the nurse, or pay nothing at all. President Biden and I are on the same page when it comes to equalizing the treatment of wages and wealth, and I will be unveiling additional proposals to achieve that goal.
“Lastly, the proposal includes a comprehensive plan to rebuild the IRS and crack down on tax cheats who are stealing billions from the American people. Dedicated funding, increased information reporting and an emphasis on pass-through businesses are critical to making real progress in collecting taxes owed. I’m working to ensure the IRS has the tools it needs to achieve these enforcement goals.
“Our country is facing significant challenges and I applaud President Biden for laying out a bold vision that meets the moment. I look forward to working with his administration to get these priorities done.”