Democrats take victory lap on child tax credit, pledge to make extend payments
IRS distributed newly expanded child tax credit payments last week
'Wall Street' columnist Bill McGurn tells 'Fox Business Tonight' the tax credit is 'a bad precedent' for families
Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday touted the boosted child tax credit as a way to sharply cut poverty in the U.S., while pledging to make the monthly checks permanent for tens of millions of parents.
The IRS last week distributed the first of six monthly payments from the newly expanded child tax credit, sending roughly $15 billion to more than 35 million families, with an average payment of $423, the Treasury Department and IRS said in a joint statement. The money is expected to reach some 60 million children.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the expanded credit – which Democrats approved in March, when they passed the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill without any Republican support – could lift an estimated 4 million children out of poverty. He said "no greater thing" has helped American families than the boosted credit.
"This bill will prevent so many people from falling into that ditch," Schumer said. "We’re so proud it was in the [American Rescue Plan], but it’s going to live long after the ARP, we know that, in our reconciliation bill."
Democrats are pushing forward with a $3.5 trillion spending bill that includes the bulk of President Biden's "Build Back Better" economic agenda. Details of the measure have not been released yet, but Democrats have indicated they want to extend the one-year relief program through 2025 with the bill, which they expect to pass using budget reconciliation.
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"We did what we promised," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday. "Help is on the way. Help is here. Money in the pocket. Children going back to school, people going back to work. Money in the pockets of the American people, vaccines in their arms."
Parents can expect to receive $3,000 for every child aged 6 to 17 and $3,600 for every child under age 6 under the expanded child tax credit. The payments are income-based and begin to phase out for individuals earning more than $75,000 and married couples earning more than $150,000. The tax credit is tapered by $50 for every $1,000 a family makes over the income thresholds.
If families earn too much to qualify for the sweetened tax credits, they can still receive the $2,000 credit for their children if their income level is below $200,000 for individuals and $400,000 for married couples.
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There’s no limit on the number of children who can receive the credit per family.
Democrats featured several recipients of the child tax credit during their press conference, including mothers who used the money for everything ranging from summer, pre-school in the fall and new technology for virtual at-home learning.
"What we Democrats have done is help the poor, those in the working class struggling to get to the middle class, and those in the middle class stay in the middle class," Schumer said.