As a pastor, I see firsthand every day the fundamental reality that families need strong communities, including Christian communities, and that communities, including Christian communities, need strong families. 

This is one of the reasons I look at issues and proposals through the "lens" of the family. Does something help or harm families? Does it help strengthen families, bringing them closer together, rooting them deeper in their communities and helping them raise their children, or does it fragment families and make the tasks of raising children and being rooted in wider communities harder? 

I also ask, particularly in this time of falling birth rates, whether it helps men and women form families. Of course, there are many dimensions and factors at play, many issues on which we have to ask this question. One of these is government policy, and some might rightly point out there are more influential factors than what government does. That’s true, and it would be a mistake to see government as the sole cause of or the only solution to all the challenges facing working families in America. 

PARENTS COULD SEE UP TO $12,000 CHILD TAX REFUND UNDER NEW BIPARTISAN HOUSE BILL

But, it would be equally a mistake to think that government policy doesn’t matter or has very little effect on working families, including those I serve in my community. This new administration has a timely opportunity to help working families through the tax code. In particular, the administration has an opportunity to strengthen the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and make the process to claim it simpler, saving millions of working families valuable time and money. 

The CTC is a tax credit for working families with children. It’s directly connected to work, so the more you work the better. Back in 2017, the credit was doubled by President Donald Trump to $2,000 per child, a majority of which is refundable based on the family's earned income. Yet, $2,000 today buys far less than it did in 2017, meaning the CTC has been greatly weakened by the sky-high costs of raising a family — an everyday challenge for so many of those I serve. 

Indeed, the American people know this; according to a recent poll, 81% support adjusting the CTC every year to account for the rising cost of living, and 74% think it should be raised (from the current $2,000) to $5,000 per child. In addition, a full 78% support some form of "baby bonus" to help families with a newborn.  

This would be a pro-family and pro-family formation policy that could provide something like a $2,000 per-parent "baby bonus" that parents could receive direct to their bank account with the child’s Social Security card, typically two to four weeks after their child is born. That makes it immediately helpful for post-birth expenses and to support parents in those wonderful (but sleep-deprived!) first few weeks after birth. 

Our communities, our nation, need strong families and working families need a strong CTC and other policies like the baby bonus to support them in those crucial early years. Indeed, Vice President JD Vance’s call for a $5,000 CTC is a great place to start. We can also help working families by providing optional flexibility in how it’s claimed and making sure it’s linked to inflation, so it doesn’t lose its value again. 

The administration also has an opportunity to use tools and technology to help make sure all eligible working families are aware of the credit and easily able to claim it. This should be a part of a new and appropriate focus on customer service across government, including at the Internal Revenue Service. After all, government exists to serve citizens, not the other way around. Working families shouldn’t need a tax professional or to spend hours and hundreds of dollars to claim these critical credits like the CTC and the Earned Income Tax Credit. 

The administration is off to a good start, with Trump’s nominee to head the Treasury Department, Scott Bessent, testifying that one of the current free filing programs at the IRS, Direct File, will continue to be available this tax-filing season for working families to file their taxes. It is free to file and enables working families to see if they are eligible for the Child Tax Credit (as well as other credits) and, if eligible, helps them claim the credits and file their Federal taxes. 

It’s been said a community’s future passes through its families, so if we want strong neighborhoods, friendly communities, effective education and high-quality jobs, we need strong working families who are raising the next generation of neighbors, educators, employers and pastors!