Harris proposes increasing the child tax credit to $6,000 for families with newborns.

• On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris advocated for an enlarged child tax credit, a longstanding objective of the Democratic Party.
• During the first year of a child's life, her plan would provide up to $3,600 per child or up to $6,000 in total benefits for middle- and low-income families.
• A week after Sen. JD Vance of Ohio proposed a $5,000 child tax credit, the plan was announced.

On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris presented an economic plan that included an enlarged child tax credit worth up to $6,000 in total tax relief for families with newborn children.

The Democratic presidential nominee's plan seeks to reinstate the enhanced child tax credit introduced through the American Rescue Plan in 2021, which allowed for a maximum credit of $3,600 per child, as stated in a campaign fact sheet.

Harris' proposed tax break would increase for one year after a child is born, providing a credit of up to $3,000 or $3,600, depending on the child's age and family's income.

During a policy speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, Harris announced that families with a newborn child would receive $6,000 in tax relief in the first year of the child's life.

Vance advocates for raising the child tax credit to $5,000. However, the expanded child tax credit did not pass in the Senate. This could make it challenging for families. Meanwhile, both Trump and Harris propose eliminating taxes on tips. However, policy experts are not in favor of this idea.

A week after Sen. JD Vance of Ohio proposed a $5,000 child tax credit, the plan was announced.

An official from the Trump campaign informed CNBC that there is a possibility of a substantial increase in the child tax credit that benefits American families.

The $2,400 bonus for newborns in Harris' proposed child tax credit expansion is "different and somewhat surprising," said Kyle Pomerleau, senior fellow and federal tax expert with the American Enterprise Institute. This bonus seems to be a response to JD Vance's criticism of the original proposal.

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

'Bipartisan momentum' for the child tax credit

Although Senate Republicans initially blocked the expanded child tax credit in August, it is anticipated that they will reconsider the measure following the election.

The child tax credit is gaining support from both sides of the political aisle, according to Andrew Lautz, associate director for the Bipartisan Policy Center's economic policy program.

The size of the expansion and future credit design will depend on which party controls the White House and Congress. However, the House-passed bill and Senate negotiations could serve as a starting point, according to Lautz.

Future child tax credit expiration

If Congress does not act, the maximum child tax credit will decrease from $2,000 to $1,000 after 2025 due to the expiration of Trump's 2017 tax cuts.

The American Rescue Plan temporarily enhanced the maximum child tax credit to $3,000 or $3,600, based on the child's age. Families received up to half of the amount via monthly payments in 2021.

In 2021, the child poverty rate reached a record low of 5.2%, largely due to the expansion of credit, according to a Columbia University analysis.

If there's a future child tax credit expansion, Pomerleau predicts it won't be as substantial as the tax breaks proposed by Harris or Vance.

Lawmakers are facing the challenge of dealing with trillions in expiring tax cuts that are "prohibitively expensive" amid the federal budget deficit, according to him.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that expanding the child tax credit to $3,000 or $3,600 could cost $1.1 trillion over a decade, while the expansion to $6,000 for newborns could cost $100 billion.

The Harris campaign's economic plan fact sheet stated that she would uphold her "pledge to financial prudence," which involved proposing increased taxes on affluent individuals and big corporations.