In recent American political history, there has been little that both sides of the political aisle have agreed on. Partisanship is at an all-time high. But what if I told you that there was a bill sitting in Congress that each party has expressed interest in — something that would strengthen an essential program for American families in every state and from every background? The bill I’m referring to is the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, and it should be at the top of the congressional agenda in the coming months.

In 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that child poverty was 13.7%. In 2021, that number had reached an all-time low of 5.2%. So what changed? In 2021, the American Rescue Plan increased the child tax credit to $3,600 for any child under seven and $3,000 for children 17 and under. But the change to the child tax credit was not made permanent — the increase expired at the end of 2021 — which is mind-boggling considering the profound positive effect it had on the American public.

The child tax credit needs a permanent expansion. Even during a pandemic, we saw a dramatic decrease in child poverty because the child tax credit was increased — then poverty rates skyrocketed after the increase was taken back off the table. Few pieces of legislation, if any, have had that drastic of an effect on the United States population.

Yet, here we are. Instead of continuing with one of the most successful programs to combat child poverty in U.S. history, we have allowed the issue to roar back from obscurity, so much so that both presidential tickets agreed that something should be done about it. That’s right — in today’s political climate, Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president, and JD Vance, the Republican vice president-elect, made clear their support for an increased child tax credit.

It would seem logical for Congress to rapidly move to pass a bill increasing the child tax credit — especially during one of the slowest periods of legislating in American history. Unfortunately, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, which would increase the refundable portion of the child tax credit to $2,000 by 2025 and passed by a wide bipartisan vote in the House in January, has inexplicably stalled out in the Senate.

There is no logical reason for this legislative delay. This bill does not even approach the $6,000 per child tax credit that Harris had promised, or Vance’s proposal to increase the amount to $5,000 per child. As a result, the bill should not be a tough sell for Senate Republicans worried about government overspending. And for the Democrats, sure, they would like a bigger increase to the child tax credit in the future. But there’s no reason that they should turn down even a small legislative victory, particularly after their recent election defeat.

Scholars have also endorsed the bill. A study published in February by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities indicated that “roughly 16 million children in families with low incomes … would benefit from the bipartisan expansion.” Furthermore, to sweeten the deal for any on-the-fence Senate Republicans, the study demonstrated that 678,000 children living in rural areas across Texas, Mississippi, Indiana, Alabama, Arkansas and Kentucky would benefit in the first year after the bill’s passing.

It would also greatly assist children of color. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities study, “nearly half (46%) of Black children living in rural areas would benefit … [and] 35% of Black children living in metro areas. Some 39% of Latino children in rural areas would benefit … [and] 35 percent in metro areas.”

This legislation helps out the nation’s most vulnerable at the expense of absolutely no political capital to members of either party. It could raise 500,000 children above the poverty line and help millions more have a better chance to eat real food and buy real clothes. The Senate must move to pass this crucial bill as soon as they can. For once, put the political games behind you, and do it for the children of America.

Carter Sherwin works at the U.S. Department of Commerce and is a recent political science graduate from Indiana University.