Biden to propose $1.8 trillion to help children and families

President Biden will detail his $1.8 trillion plan to help children and families before a joint session of Congress Wednesday.  

Carol Simpson is one parent who will be listening. 

"That's because I'm a single parent. I need all the help I can get right now," said Simpson.

She knows the struggle parents face with the high cost of child care. 

"One time, I had to go get a third job just to pay the child care and that was about four or five years ago. I'm doing two full-time jobs, and working a part-time just to pay for my daughter's child care. That's crazy," said Simpson.

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President Biden is calling for $225 billion to ensure that low and middle income families don't have to pay more than 7% of their income for child care, and $200 billion in free universal preschool.  

Dr. Robert Sanborn with the Children at Risk advocacy group says that could make a big difference. 

"When we think about women returning to the workforce, when we think about children being successful once they get into the workforce, child care is a big part of that," said Sanborn. 

The plan also includes expanding summertime EBT meals for students, creating a comprehensive paid family and medical leave program, and extending this year's increased child tax credit through 2025. Qualified families would get up to $3,600 a year for kids under five, and $3,000 for kids five to 17. 

"Children grow like wildfire. When you grow, you have new clothes, new shoes, you need more food, you need more. So I believe it would help," said Simpson.

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$200 billion would go toward lowering health insurance premiums for those who buy coverage on their own. 
 
Biden's plan also includes two years of free community college and subsidizing two years of tuition at historically Black and tribal colleges for students whose families earn less than $125,000 a year. 

"When we look at the research, it's very clear the money we spend on childcare and education, is sometimes the biggest bang for our taxpayer buck that we're going to get, in regards to children being successful," said Sanborn.

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But the bill faces major opposition from Republicans as being too costly. 

To fund these programs, Biden wants to reverse pieces of President Trump's 2017 tax cut and increase the tax rate from 37 to 39.6% for the wealthiest Americans. Biden says taxes won't go up for anyone making under $400,000.