Families in Southwest Washington will have the opportunity to speak with one of their U.S. senators during a virtual town hall Wednesday evening with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.
The meeting will be livestreamed 6:30 p.m. on Facebook by Fuse, an organization that mobilizes political campaigns and connects leaders to their constituents.
Attendees can submit questions before the livestream or ask them through a chat function during the discussion.
During the virtual town hall, Murray will provide an update on her work in Congress addressing the cost of child care, maintaining school safety and other related policies.
She will readdress what she says is the need for the expanded Child Tax Credit, a component from the Build back Better framework that extends the aid. Under the extended credit, families received up to $300 a month for each child under 6 years old and $250 per child between 6 and 17 years old. It was permanently refundable, meaning low-income families received the credit regardless of their income or tax status.
Prior to this, low-income families only received a portion of a tax break as a refund, while higher earners received its full value. Families wouldn’t be eligible for the child tax credit if they earned less than $2,500 a year.
The monthly aid from the child tax credit expired at the end of 2021, leaving many families in need of financial help. Congress will have to renew the Child Tax Credit for families to receive payments again.
The $1.7 trillion plan that contains social and climate change spending is stalled, as Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., rejected the House’s bill in early February. There is no clear timeline for when it might be passed.
Murray, who is the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee chair, will also discuss initiatives to lower health care costs, such as closing the Medicaid gap and helping people access health insurance by making premiums more affordable.
