May 12, 2020

Wyden Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Help New Parents Receive CARES Act Stimulus Checks This Year

Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today joined with a bipartisan group of colleagues to introduce legislation that would ensure more new parents quickly receive the additional $500 per child in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act stimulus payments without having to wait until 2021.

“Immediate economic help in the middle of this public health crisis is a must for new parents and the newborns depending on them from Day One to provide food, diapers, shelter and more,” said Wyden, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. “The  bipartisan support for this legislation fixing a family-unfriendly tax provision spotlights both this proposal’s common sense and its urgency.”   

Currently, parents of children born on or after January 1, 2020, must wait until they file taxes in calendar year 2021 to receive those payments due to eligibility for the additional $500 per child being based on existing Child Tax Credit rules. The bill would waive those rules and require the Internal Revenue Service to develop a system to provide payments to families with newborns once a Social Security number is assigned to the child.

Joining Wyden in introducing the Newborn CARES Act are U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Tina Smith (D-MN), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and James Lankford (R-OK).