Three senators, led by Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), have introduced a bipartisan bill to make adoption more affordable for families across the country.
Blunt, Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) announced the Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act, legislation that makes the current adoption tax credit fully refundable. In a news release Monday, the three lawmakers said the legislation would ensure that more families can benefit from this critical support.
“Over 100,000 children are waiting for adoption into a family who can give them the loving home they deserve,” Blunt said.
“This bipartisan bill will restore the refundability portion of the tax credit to make adoption more affordable for hardworking families. I urge my colleagues to join me in this effort to make adoption a more viable option for parents who are eager to welcome a child into their home.”
The lawmakers said the adoption tax credit was made permanent in the American Taxpayer Relief Act in January 2013. However, that law did not extend the refundability provisions that applied to the adoption tax credit in 2010 and 2011. The Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act would restore the refundable portion of this critical support for families wishing to adopt, the release said.
“It is a common misconception that only wealthy families adopt,” Casey said. “We must do all we can do to ensure that all children are afforded the opportunity to grow up in a permanent, loving home. This legislation is a commonsense approach to improve lower-income families’ ability to adopt and support children from foster care.”
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, about one-third of all adopted children live in households with annual household incomes at or below 200 percent of the poverty level. The lawmakers said nearly 46 percent of children adopted from foster care live in families with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level and many of these families’ income taxes are so low that they cannot benefit from the adoption tax credit at all unless it is refundable.
“My family knows firsthand the joys and blessings adoption brings,” Inhofe said. “But adoption is not without its difficulties and, too often, can be a costly process. Making the adoption tax credit fully refundable will ease that financial burden so more families can choose to adopt and welcome children into their homes.”
