A federal bill is being proposed to increase the child tax credit, and under it, families earning less than $150,000 a year would benefit.

Sen. Bob Menendez is sponsoring the American Family Act, which would increase the current child tax credit.

He was touting the proposal at the Union City Day Care Center.

Under the bill, for children six and under, he wants to raise the tax credit to $3,600 a year.

For children between the ages of 6 and 16, it would be raised to $3,000 a year.

"I refuse to sit by while the American Dream turns into an American myth,” says Sen. Menendez. “There's a big difference between a dream and a myth. You can work toward a dream, you can't work toward a myth."

Under the current child tax credit system, it's a maximum of $2,000 a year for a child six and under.

It's the same amount for a child between 6 and 16.