(PartiallyPolitics.com) – President Joe Biden articulated a desire on Tuesday to reestablish and permanently maintain the child tax credits, arguing that offering Americans more cost-effective child care options would foster economic expansion.
Originally part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan, the enhancements to the child tax credit aimed to assist America’s low-income families during the peak of the pandemic crisis. This measure was a critical element of the stimulus efforts intended to soften the economic blow of the pandemic. Unfortunately, the program was not renewed after its expiration.
Biden highlighted the economic benefits of reliable child care in a speech in Nevada, noting, “What happens when people don’t have to worry about what’s going to happen to their child if they go to work, they have child care? The economy grows.”
The president praised the role of the child tax credit in reducing U.S. child poverty. He explained, “By sending $300 checks per child, per family, per month, it helped families navigate through the pandemic. I aim to reinstate and make the child care tax credit permanent, which notably reduced child poverty among Black families, Latinos, Asians, and tribal communities.”
The effectiveness of the child tax credit in 2021 led to historically low levels of child poverty, which unfortunately doubled the following year after the termination of the policy, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Despite the lack of federal action to renew the tax credit, various states have implemented their versions of the benefit.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported in March that “Fourteen states have enacted a child tax credit, and 31 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have their own versions of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.”
In March, the White House proposed that the enhanced credit could be increased from $2,000 to $3,000 for children aged 6 and older, and to $3,600 for younger children.
The Biden administration believes that fully restoring the Child Tax Credit could significantly alleviate poverty, lifting 3 million children out of poverty and providing a tax reduction averaging $2,600 for 39 million low- and middle-income families, affecting 66 million children.
Copyright 2024, PartiallyPolitics.com
