Providing Family Benefits In Washington State
When Democrats had control of the House, Senate, and Presidency in 2021 and 2022, there was some hope that they would pass a comprehensive scheme of benefits for families with children. But the failure to pass the Build Back Better legislation and failure to extend the Child Tax Credit provisions of the American Rescue Plan dashed those hopes. With Republicans now in control of the House, Senate, and Presidency, any federal expansion of family benefits is effectively off the table for the next four years.
States, especially those controlled by Democrats, have the ability to fill the void left by the federal government and enact their own suite of family benefits.