News

Washington, D.C. – As U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) prepares to introduce paid family leave legislation next week, Rubio’s office today released a video highlighting his efforts to help working American families by expanding the Child Tax Credit and offering a conservative solution for paid family leave.

A broadcast-quality version of the video is available here and a transcript of the video is below:

We live in a rapidly changing economy that has left millions of working Americans at risk of being left behind. Globalization has created a world where corporate profits go up, while wages sometimes remain flat. At the same time, starting and raising a family is more expensive than it’s ever been.

In this time of great disruption and insecurity, our country needs an economy that works for all Americans. One that stops the erosion of the American dream. One that works for both the laid-off factory worker and the immigrant family of a bartender and maid—and all of their children.

So when we passed the new tax law, we worked to make sure that it would help working class families of teachers and firefighters and home health aides. The Child Tax Credit is the biggest provision to help working families. It puts money directly back into their pockets.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act doubles this tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child, which helps more than 90 million American families. That’s real money. And we won’t stop there. Starting and raising a family should not bankrupt working Americans.

That’s why we need to find a conservative solution to provide paid family leave in a fiscally-responsible way. This is something I will continue to work with my colleagues to make a priority and to pass. As Ronald Reagan once said, we are going to make it economical to raise children again.

I want my message to be clear: if you work hard, pay your taxes, and start a family, you are doing immense good for our country in a time when we need stable families more than we ever have. Republicans have a chance to be the party that fights for our workers, while fighting for our families and at the same time, growing our economy.

These important changes to the tax code will make the difficult, but deeply important, job of raising kids just a little bit easier. And that, that’s worth doing.