Update on Biden Task Force

Just ahead of the State of the Union message, President Obama and Vice President Biden announced some new programs for working and middle-class families, part of the work of the Task Force on the Middle Class that Biden heads.  

Biden said the new programs were put together following last year's series of meetings with workers and families who told the Vice President and administration officials about specific help they needed. They include:

• Nearly doubling the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit for middle-class families earning less than $85,000 a year and a $1.6 billion increase in child care funding for families struggling to enter the middle class.
• Limiting a student's federal loan payments to 10 percent of income above a basic living allowance.
• Creating a system of automatic workplace IRAs, requiring all employers to give the option for employees to enroll in a direct-deposit IRA.
• Expanding tax credits to match retirement savings and enacting new safeguards to protect retirement savings. 
• Expanding support for families who must balance work with caring for elderly relatives.