Courtesy / LA Chamber
Shanna Cox
1 hour ago
Commentary
Op-Ed: What’s at stake if US lawmakers eliminate the Child Tax Credit
By Shanna Cox, Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
I know what it means to work hard in rural Maine.
I grew up in Orland and raised kids here in Lewiston, three who share my DNA and one who chose — and was chosen by — our family during his final year of high school. For much of that time, I was doing it on my own. I worked multiple jobs, covered rent, and put myself through college. I’ve waited tables, co-founded nonprofits, and today I lead the Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
At every stage, I’ve seen how decisions made in Washington, D.C., and Augusta shape the futures of families like mine and the small businesses working to keep our communities strong.
In the coming days and weeks, Congress has a critical opportunity to fix what I consider to be a glaring gap in the current federal budget reconciliation bill — the exclusion of the lowest-income working families from the full Child Tax Credit.
This omission disproportionately harms rural children, including 45,000 children here in Maine and 2,000 in veteran families.
As a working mom and president and CEO of the chamber, I know these are the very kids our employers will one day depend on and the same families whose economic security today shapes the workforce we’ll need in the years to come.
The expanded Child Tax Credit, briefly in place during the pandemic, was a true lifeline. It lifted millions of children out of poverty and gave families, especially those in rural and working-class communities, the means to cover essentials, with maybe even a little to cover all those “extras” that aren’t really extras when you have kids.
In my household, it seems like someone was constantly outgrowing their clothes or shoes, or needed new gear for the sport of the season.
Families in our region told us it was the first time they had breathing room in their household budgets. That version of the Child Tax Credit didn’t penalize families for earning too little. It simply recognized that all children deserve a fair shot, no matter how much their parents bring home in a paycheck.
Rolling back that progress doesn’t recognize the reality of the families and employers here in Maine who have it hard enough already. And the Child Tax Credit is one the best tools we have to help families with the endless rising costs of just about everything.
Critical support
At the chamber, we hear from employers every day who are struggling to hire and retain workers.
Through Strengthen LA, a public-private partnership of more than 40 employers focused on workforce needs, we’ve identified three industries critical to our region’s economic health. One of those is early childhood education. Our employers understand that parents can’t work without child care and there is no child care without the workforce to provide it.
Maine has made important strides in addressing our childcare challenges, but ongoing federal support for working families remains critical.
Smart economic strategy
Supporting working families isn’t just a matter of fairness to me, it's a smart economic strategy.
I’ve seen what happens when families don’t have the resources they need and it affects everything. From whether parents can stay in the workforce to whether local businesses can find the employees they need to grow.
When we invest in tools like the Child Tax Credit and build strong early childhood care systems, we’re investing directly in Maine’s future workforce and economy.
Rural employers can’t stay afloat if their future workers are left behind. And parents, especially working moms like me, can’t fully rejoin the labor force without reliable, affordable care for their children.
Leading the way
The decisions coming out of Washington this summer will have real, lasting impacts here at home — on our kids, our businesses and the economic health of our region.
I believe Maine can lead the way, and I’m hopeful our federal leaders will step up and listen to the families and businesses who are counting on them.
Because no child, especially one growing up in rural Maine, should be left out of a policy designed to help families move forward with stability and opportunity.
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