Heinrich: We Have The Tools To End Child Poverty In New Mexico

WASHINGTON (Jan. 20, 2022) – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), is highlighting how the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and investing in early childhood education and broadband infrastructure can support New Mexico families and lift current and future generations out of poverty.

The 2021 New Mexico KIDS COUNT Data Book released on Wednesday by New Mexico Voices for Children, which is part of the national KIDS COUNT network, found that in New Mexico there are 116,000 children living in poverty and 151,000 children whose parents lack secure employment.

“New Mexico’s children deserve a future as bright as they are. To achieve that, we need to level the playing field for our kids—especially in their earliest years—with smart investments that set them up with a strong foundation for long-term academic and career success” said Heinrich. “We also need to advance forward-looking, two-generation policies that provide robust services for parents and their children simultaneously and make sure every single kid has the support they need starting at early childhood education and all the way through higher education.”

In December 2021, Senator Heinrich introduced legislation to provide federal approval for the State of New Mexico’s proposal to invest Land Grant Permanent Fund (LGPF) dollars into early childhood education. Senator Heinrich has also long-championed two-generation policies that help parents and children reach success together. This Congress he introduced the College Completion Fund Act, landmark legislation to promote college completion in a thoughtful, innovative, and comprehensive way, and address longstanding inequities in college access and success.

Senator Heinrich fought to include provisions in the Democrat-passed American Rescue Plan that expanded the Child Tax Credit for working families for tax year 2021. This expansion dramatically increased the value of the CTC from $2,000 per child to up to $3,600 per child under age 6 and $3,000 per child between age 6 and 17.

According to a December 2021 report release by the Joint Economic Committee, the expanded CTC kickstarted a historic reduction in childhood poverty as more money was put into the pockets of low- and middle-income families to pay for household expenses like food, rent, utilities and child care. In New Mexico, almost 400,000 children benefited from over $600 million in CTC payments from July-December 2021. Senator Heinrich believes that continuing the CTC – and making it permanent – is critical to providing New Mexico families assistance.

“The expanded Child Tax Credit has made a real difference in helping parents and families afford the costs of raising a child and giving all of our kids the opportunity to succeed. However, based off of the numbers in the annual Kids Count Data Book, we know fully well that the work cannot stop there. I will continue fighting to make this expanded investment in the success of our children and their families permanent,” said Heinrich.

Senator Heinrich also helped secure historic broadband investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to connect more New Mexico students to reliable, affordable high-speed internet. Under the new law, New Mexico will receive a minimum allocation of $100 million to help provide broadband coverage across the state, including providing access to the at least 223,941 New Mexicans who currently lack it. Additionally, 785,000 or 38.1% of people in New Mexico will be eligible for the Affordability Connectivity Benefit, which will help low-income families afford internet access.

The annual KIDS COUNT data book, compiled and published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, tracks a total of 16 indicators of child well-being, including issues like child poverty. 

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