Moore outlines ‘Family First Act’ to boost child tax credit for families with young children

Congressman Blake Moore, who represents Utah’s 1st Congressional District, on Saturday described a bill he and colleagues introduced called the Family First Act that would raise the child tax credit for younger children and add a separate payment for expectant mothers.

Moore, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the proposal would increase the credit to $4,200 for children ages 0–5 and to $3,000 for children ages 6–17, and would include a $2,800 payment for an expecting mother. “Don’t get any sticker shock with that number $4,200,” he said, “because we’re offsetting it.”

The congressman reviewed the child tax credit’s history, saying it was first introduced in 1997, increased to $1,000 in 2003, and doubled in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to $2,000. He said the 2021 temporary expansion to $3,600 for the youngest children has since expired and that, unless Congress acts, the credit would revert to earlier, lower levels. “If we don’t enact new…policy on child tax credit, it will go back to $1,000 per child,” Moore said.

Moore described the Family First Act as a package that refocuses several existing, targeted provisions — including references to the earned income tax credit (EITC) and the child and dependent care tax credit (CDCTC) — toward a simpler cash-based benefit for younger families. He said the bill would “take other tax provisions that we believe are more antiquated, overly complex, and have kind of lost their flexibility” and use those changes to offset the proposal.

He emphasized the intent to press the measure during an active tax year and noted his role on the committee of jurisdiction. “We’re gonna push hard to have this be a part of the discussions as we have a very big tax year up ahead,” Moore said. The congressman did not provide legislative text, score-estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, or a timeline for committee action in the remarks.

Moore framed the proposal as targeted at parents just starting families, saying younger children impose distinctive costs and that the bill would give families “the flexibility to be able to use this however they want.” He also said the proposal would not necessarily eliminate existing credits but would reform them and “focus the effort and the resources” on the Family First Act.

The remarks were presented in a video address rather than a formal congressional hearing or markup. Moore did not announce a formal vote, committee hearing date, or specific offsets by statute; those details remain to be released in bill text and committee materials.