Angie Craig: “there is some very important unfinished business from the last Congress that requires our early attention this year…”

“there is some very important unfinished business from the last Congress that requires our early attention this year: renewing the adoption tax credit. As many of our colleagues know, this credit was enacted in 1996 to help families with the extraordinary costs of adoption. Forming a family through adoption is challenging for a number of reasons, but the financial burden puts it out of reach altogether for too many Americans. Legal fees, medical bills, travel, and other expenses can push the cost into the tens of thousands of dollars, over and above the normal cost of raising a child. Congress enacted the adoption tax credit to enable families to keep a little more of their own hard-earned dollars to use for these expenses, on a one-time basis. That tax credit has been very helpful to the families who have opened their homes and hearts to children in need. However, it is due to expire at the end of this year, along with another adoption-related tax provision that excludes employer-provided adoption benefits from income, for tax purposes. We cannot wait until the end of the year to renew these tax measures. Today, families are making decisions about whether they can afford to embark on the long journey to bring a child home through adoption. Today, they cannot count on those tax benefits being available. This Congress must move swiftly to reassure America's adoptive families that we will continue to support this modest assistance.”