Davids Calls on Senate to Pass Bipartisan Tax Cuts for Families, Small Businesses

Today, Representative Sharice Davids urged the Senate to pass a bipartisan tax package aimed at reducing taxes for hardworking families and small businesses in Kansas. The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, which Davids voted to supported in January, includes key policies she has long championed, such as the Child Tax Credit (CTC), small business research and development (R&D) credits, and affordable housing provisions. Davids expressed hope that the strong bipartisan support shown in the U.S. House earlier this year will continue as the Senate votes on the legislation today.

"Having been raised by a single mother, I understand firsthand the challenges that hardworking families face today,” said Davids. “That’s why I urge the Senate to pass this bipartisan package of middle-class tax cuts, which provides much-needed relief to families and small businesses in Kansas. It would benefit our communities, help parents, foster job growth, and create more affordable housing options at home. It's time for the Senate to support these measures, as we did in the House with overwhelming bipartisan support, and promote Kansans' wellbeing."

The bipartisan tax package includes provisions that provide financial relief to Kansas families and small businesses, including:

• Child Tax Credit: Expands direct payments to parents over the next three years, benefiting 136,000 children in Kansas. This would help lift as many as 500,000 children out of poverty nationally.
  • Davids previously voted for the American Rescue Plan, which expanded the CTC in 2021. These provisions benefited 148,000 children in Kansas’ Third District.
• Small Business Credits: Expands the R&D tax credit, which encourages investment in innovation, allowing small businesses to better compete globally and create jobs.
  • Davids previously led the Kansas Delegation to call on House Leadership to reinstate business-friendly R&D tax rules.
  • She also joined her New Democrat Coalition colleagues to call on House Leadership to expand the R&D tax credit, which was weakened in 2017.
• Affordable Housing: Strengthens the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, which boosts affordable rental housing in rural, suburban, and urban Kansas. This program has financed 38,391 affordable homes in Kansas since 1986.
  • Davids previously joined Representative Jake LaTurner (R-KS-02) to urge U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson to schedule a vote on a bill to increase affordable housing option. Today’s package includes provisions from that legislation.
• Price Tag is Offset: Completely pays for itself by ending a pandemic-era program, known as the Employee Retention Tax Credit, that has been riddled with fraud and cost more than had been projected.

Davids, who was raised by a single mother, has worked diligently to lower costs and get relief for hardworking Kansans. She helped pass a law that caps the cost of insulin at $35 a month for seniors on Medicare and finally lets Medicare negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. Davids also voted to fix our supply chains and to lower grocery costs by reducing our country’s dependence on foreign oil. Further, she successfully pushed the IRS to give small business owners a tax break on mileage expenses for their businesses and introduced bipartisan legislation to help Kansas families access quality and affordable childcare.