President Biden told the country during his State of the Union address on Tuesday that he wants to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and extend the child tax credit.
The Paycheck Fairness Act addresses wage discrimination on the basis of sex. Few states have a $15 minimum wage he proposed, but taxpayers with qualifying dependent children have received the child tax credit.
“Let’s pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and paid leave. Raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and extend the child tax credit, so no one has to raise a family in poverty,” Biden said.
Biden said by giving workers a fair shot, providing more training and apprenticeships, and hiring them based on their skills and not degrees will increase quality and drive down costs in the workplace. That would keep the economy going strong, he said in his address.
Under the Paycheck Fairness Act, the Department of Labor would carry out three primary tasks: establish and carry out a grant program to provide training in negotiation skills related to compensation and equitable working conditions; conduct studies to eliminate pay disparities between men and women; and make wage discrimination information available to assist the public in understanding and addressing such discrimination.
The child tax credit is an annual credit available to taxpayers with qualifying dependent children. As part of the pandemic relief package, the American Rescue Plan was expanded to a maximum of $3,600 in 2021. Previously, the tax credit maximum was $2,000.
The Department of Labor said the only states with a $15 an hour minimum wage are California, New York and Washington, D.C.
