Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday made the incredible claim that his proposed child tax credit would "put 720 million women back in the workforce."
The former vice president was speaking at the Workers’ Presidential Summit in Philadelphia when he made the remarks about his proposal for an $8,000 child tax credit. He said his words made him "sound like a wonk."
"You get a tax break for a race horse. Why in God's name couldn't we provide an $8,000 tax credit for everybody who has childcare costs?" Biden said. "It would put 720 million women back in the workforce. It would increase the GDP—to sound like a wonk here—by about eight-tenths of one percent. It would grow the economy."
Considering only about 330 million people live in the United States at all, it is obvious he is incorrect. It's unclear what studies or statistics he may have had in mind.
While Biden has touted the $8,000 tax credit in at least three speeches over the last month, he opposed expanding a childcare tax credit in 1981. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.), who recently dropped out of the Democratic primary for president, slammed Biden in early August for his record on women working outside the home, saying she thinks he is "full of BS."
As the Free Beacon reported:
Biden did not discuss gender or mothers in his op-ed, but Gillibrand framed it during the debate as Biden saying "women working outside the home" would deteriorate the family. CNN interviewer Brooke Baldwin pointed that out and noted Biden said during a Senate floor speech that year he had no issue with working mothers.
[...]
Gillibrand dramatically asked Biden if her service in Congress as a mother was part of a deterioration of the family, but he had a ready retort, saying he was a single parent for five years following the death of his first wife and knew the cost of childcare well. He defended his record on women's issues and tied Gillibrand's attack to base politics.