The Most Consequential Policy In The COVID-19 Relief Law Is Still A Big Mystery
3 years, 9 months ago

The Most Consequential Policy In The COVID-19 Relief Law Is Still A Big Mystery

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Democrats have said the expansion of the child tax credit might be the most important part of the American Rescue Plan, the coronavirus relief bill President Joe Biden signed into law last week. That’s a pretty tough question to say yes to,” Sen. Sherrod Brown said of the child tax credit in the new coronavirus relief bill. In their public statements about the tax credit, most Democrats have focused on the overall amount of money parents will receive per child per year and the amount of poverty it will reduce. Since the federal government officially measures poverty using an annual metric, a huge lump sum of cash all at once reduces poverty just as much as a smaller monthly benefit — even though recurring, dependable payments would probably make poor people’s lives a lot less chaotic.

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History of this topic

'Let’s do it': MAGA Republican's bold proposal gets thumbs up from Dem
1 week ago

'Let’s do it': MAGA Republican's bold proposal gets thumbs up from Dem

Raw Story  

A firebrand Republican senator and MAGA ally's new proposal just got a thumbs up from at least one Democratic lawmaker. “These are the people working class, people with families are who elected Donald Trump, and we need to deliver real and meaningful tax relief to them,” Hawley told Axios in an interview. Hawley added that he's already had discussions with …

Harris Proposes Massive Child Tax Credit Increase as Election Looms
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Harris Proposes Massive Child Tax Credit Increase as Election Looms

Associated Press  

The child tax credit is a topic of significant discussion in the upcoming presidential election. Democrats seek a massive expansion of the tax credit, while Republicans have expressed support for increasing the tax credit but also concern that for some parents, it could become an incentive not to work. The stakes of this debate are high for parents who are …

Editorial: Which political party is really ‘anti-kid’? Just look at recent child tax credit history
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Editorial: Which political party is really ‘anti-kid’? Just look at recent child tax credit history

LA Times  

President Biden arrives to speak at an event to mark the start of monthly child tax credit relief payments in July 2021. There’s a reason voters are hearing more about the child tax credit during this presidential campaign, with both Republican and Democratic candidates voicing support for its expansion. Vance, who has disingenuously tried to label Democrats “anti-family and anti-kid,” …

Child care is a ‘textbook example of a broken market.’ Where do Harris, Trump go from here?
4 months ago

Child care is a ‘textbook example of a broken market.’ Where do Harris, Trump go from here?

LA Times  

Children get help from staff during a class at Educare Los Angeles at Long Beach in March. The ‘broken child-care market’ Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen described the child care system in 2021 as “a textbook example of a broken market.” Child-care employees are some of the lowest-paid workers in the economy, at an average of $13.22 an …

Harris leans into populism with proposal for middle-class and lower-income tax relief
4 months, 1 week ago

Harris leans into populism with proposal for middle-class and lower-income tax relief

CNN  

CNN — Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday unveiled a populist economic agenda, proposing a new plan to provide tax relief for more than 100 million middle-class and lower-income Americans as she builds out the details of her governing agenda weeks after locking down the Democratic presidential nomination. Harris on Friday took aim at Trump’s economic proposals — particularly his …

How a ‘game-changer’ child tax credit for families became a priority for Harris, Vance
4 months, 1 week ago

How a ‘game-changer’ child tax credit for families became a priority for Harris, Vance

LA Times  

Parent coach Alba Mariscal, left, makes a home visit to Cudahy in August 2023. And in an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation” last Sunday, Vance said he supported an increase to the child tax credit. “Look, I’d love to see a child tax credit that’s $5,000 per child,” he said. The child tax credit was first enacted in 1997 …

Column: Trump says Harris stole his idea for exempting tips from tax, but her version beats his
4 months, 1 week ago

Column: Trump says Harris stole his idea for exempting tips from tax, but her version beats his

LA Times  

Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at a rally in Las Vegas, where she unveiled a plan to raise the minimum wage and cut taxes on tips. “A meaningful share of tipped workers already pay zero federal income tax,” Tedeschi notes. Far more gains would be achieved by extending enhancements to the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax …

Opinion: Why is the ‘pro-family’ GOP blocking legislation that would help lift many kids out of poverty?
4 months, 2 weeks ago

Opinion: Why is the ‘pro-family’ GOP blocking legislation that would help lift many kids out of poverty?

LA Times  

Vice presidential candidate JD Vance is among the Republicans saying that Democrats are anti-family. Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance told Megyn Kelly last month that Democrats are calling for an end to the Child Tax Credit because they are “anti-family and anti-kid.” Vance, who has courted controversy for calling Democrats the party of “childless cat ladies,” then declared, “We …

Senate rejects legislation that would expand child tax credit and restore business tax breaks
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Senate rejects legislation that would expand child tax credit and restore business tax breaks

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — A bill to expand the child tax credit and restore some tax breaks for businesses failed to advance in the Senate on Thursday as Republicans largely opposed the measure, arguing they would be in position to get a better deal next year. He was also looking to counter assertions from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. …

US Child Tax Credit 2024: Who is eligible for the benefit?
10 months, 2 weeks ago

US Child Tax Credit 2024: Who is eligible for the benefit?

Hindustan Times  

The House introduced expansions to the Child Tax Credit 2024 scheme by passing a bill last week. What does the Child Tax Credit 2024 expansion mean? The child should not file a joint return with their partner for the tax year OR file it only to claim a refund of withheld income tax/ estimated tax paid. Lower-income families will Tax …

House passes bill to enhance child tax credit, revive key tax breaks for businesses
10 months, 3 weeks ago

House passes bill to enhance child tax credit, revive key tax breaks for businesses

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The House accomplished something unusual Wednesday in passing with broad, bipartisan support a roughly $79 billion tax cut package that would enhance the child tax credit for millions of lower-income families and boost three tax breaks for businesses, a combination that gives lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle coveted policy wins. He spent part of the …

Lawmakers announce bipartisan effort to enhance child tax credit, revive tax breaks for businesses
11 months, 1 week ago

Lawmakers announce bipartisan effort to enhance child tax credit, revive tax breaks for businesses

LA Times  

The chairmen of the top tax policy committees in Congress announced a bipartisan agreement Tuesday to enhance the child tax credit and revive a variety of tax breaks for businesses, a combination designed to attract support from lawmakers of both political parties. The bill would incrementally increase the maximum refundable child tax credit to $1,800 for 2023 tax returns, $1,900 …

Lawmakers announce bipartisan effort to enhance child tax credit, revive tax breaks for businesses
11 months, 1 week ago

Lawmakers announce bipartisan effort to enhance child tax credit, revive tax breaks for businesses

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The chairmen of the top tax policy committees in Congress announced a bipartisan agreement Tuesday to enhance the child tax credit and revive a variety of tax breaks for businesses, a combination designed to attract support from lawmakers of both political parties. The bill would incrementally increase the maximum refundable child tax credit to $1,800 for 2023 tax …

To tackle poverty, more states will offer bigger child tax credits in 2024
11 months, 3 weeks ago

To tackle poverty, more states will offer bigger child tax credits in 2024

NPR  

To tackle poverty, more states will offer bigger child tax credits in 2024 Enlarge this image toggle caption Steve LeBlanc/AP Steve LeBlanc/AP Many Americans took a double whammy to the pocketbook this year: Prices for things like food and rent rose, and federal pandemic aid continued to peter out. "While the state-specific child tax credits are smaller than what we've …

This Republican senator wants an expanded child tax credit — with work requirements
1 year, 3 months ago

This Republican senator wants an expanded child tax credit — with work requirements

NPR  

This Republican senator wants an expanded child tax credit — with work requirements Enlarge this image toggle caption Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images An unusual thing happened a couple of years ago: nearly 3 million children in the United States were lifted out of poverty. Fast forward 2.5 years — those expanded tax credits have expired and new census …

A pediatrician's view on child poverty rates: 'I need policymakers to do their job'
1 year, 3 months ago

A pediatrician's view on child poverty rates: 'I need policymakers to do their job'

NPR  

A pediatrician's view on child poverty rates: 'I need policymakers to do their job' Enlarge this image toggle caption Cavan Images/Getty Images/Cavan Images RF Cavan Images/Getty Images/Cavan Images RF Child poverty in the U.S. has more than doubled in a year, and we have a pretty clear idea what drove it: Congress let the expanded child tax credit expire. The …

Child poverty in the US jumped and income declined in 2022 as coronavirus pandemic benefits ended
1 year, 3 months ago

Child poverty in the US jumped and income declined in 2022 as coronavirus pandemic benefits ended

Associated Press  

Child poverty in the United States more than doubled and median household income declined last year when coronavirus pandemic-era government benefits expired and inflation kept rising, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. However, income inequality increased when using after-tax income, another result of the end of pandemic-era tax credits, according to Census Bureau reports on income, …

Column: Anti-poverty programs work. Why are Democrats letting them wither?
1 year, 9 months ago

Column: Anti-poverty programs work. Why are Democrats letting them wither?

LA Times  

It’s an article of faith down our way that Democrats are good at enacting programs that help ordinary Americans and the vulnerable but are atrocious at communicating their ideals and successes to the public, while Republicans care only about serving the rich but are superb at fostering the misimpression that they’re servants of the masses. Starting last year and culminating …

You’re not getting child tax credit checks anymore. Here’s why
1 year, 11 months ago

You’re not getting child tax credit checks anymore. Here’s why

LA Times  

Christina Darling plays with her sons Kayden, 10, left, and Brennan, 4, at home in Nashua, N.H., in 2021. Darling and her family had qualified for the expanded child tax credit, part of President Biden’s $1.9-trillion coronavirus relief package. “It didn’t have enough time to just root in the way you need it to,” said DeLauro, who advocated for an …

Hopes fade for year-end tax deal in congress to aid companies, children
2 years ago

Hopes fade for year-end tax deal in congress to aid companies, children

Live Mint  

Lawmakers are struggling to reach bipartisan agreement on a year-end tax deal, and businesses and antipoverty advocates both look unlikely to get what they want. Republicans and many companies want to reverse, prevent or delay some tax increases on businesses that were scheduled in a GOP-backed 2017 tax law and that began taking effect this year. For families, the child …

Column: The Child Tax Credit is our greatest antipoverty program. Why is Congress letting it wither?
2 years ago

Column: The Child Tax Credit is our greatest antipoverty program. Why is Congress letting it wither?

LA Times  

Sen. Joe Manchin III wants to limit the Child Tax Credit by imposing work requirements, even though his state is one of the most poverty-bound in the nation. Here are some documented truths about the federal Child Tax Credit: — The enhanced credit, enacted in March 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan, the government’s pandemic relief package, reduced …

Editorial: Congress can help struggling families by reviving the expanded child tax credit
2 years ago

Editorial: Congress can help struggling families by reviving the expanded child tax credit

LA Times  

For a brief, six-month period last year, something life-changing happened for tens of millions of American families: They started receiving automatic monthly payments of as much as $300 per child to use for whatever they needed. But Congress allowed the payments to expire in January, ending an expanded child tax credit that slashed child poverty and could have been a …

One Of Democrats’ Proudest Policy Achievements Is Missing From The Midterms
2 years, 1 month ago

One Of Democrats’ Proudest Policy Achievements Is Missing From The Midterms

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Last year Democrats boasted about a new monthly allowance they’d created for households with kids. Democratic campaign ads have highlighted the party’s support for reducing costs for the middle class, and any mention of “middle class tax cuts” could semi-plausibly be a reference to the child tax credit, since the monthly payments the IRS sent out last …

Poverty and uninsured rates drop, thanks to pandemic-era policies
2 years, 3 months ago

Poverty and uninsured rates drop, thanks to pandemic-era policies

NPR  

Poverty and uninsured rates drop, thanks to pandemic-era policies Enlarge this image toggle caption Mario Tama/Getty Images Mario Tama/Getty Images The Census Bureau released some heartening news Tuesday. Uninsured rate approaches record lows, thanks to Medicaid The census numbers show 8.3% of Americans – or 27.2 million people – did not have any health insurance in 2021. "The reason the …

In Biden’s big bill: Climate, health care, deficit reduction
2 years, 4 months ago

In Biden’s big bill: Climate, health care, deficit reduction

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The biggest investment ever in the U.S. to fight climate change. Republicans deride the 730-page bill as big government overreach and point particular criticism at its $80 billion investment in the IRS to hire new employees and go after tax scofflaws. Here’s what’s in the estimated $740 billion package — made up of $440 billion in new spending …

Democrats’ big package: What remains in and what’s out?
2 years, 4 months ago

Democrats’ big package: What remains in and what’s out?

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — It’s nowhere near the $4 trillion proposal President Joe Biden first launched to rebuild America’s public infrastructure and family support systems but the compromise package of inflation-fighting health care, climate change and deficit reduction strategies appears on track toward Senate votes this weekend. What’s in, and out, of the Democrats’ “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022” as it stands …

What’s in, and out, of Democrats’ inflation-fighting package
2 years, 4 months ago

What’s in, and out, of Democrats’ inflation-fighting package

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — What started as a $4 trillion effort during President Joe Biden’s first months in office to rebuild America’s public infrastructure and family support systems has ended up a much slimmer, but not unsubstantial, compromise package of inflation-fighting health care, climate change and deficit reduction strategies that appears headed toward quick votes in Congress. Lawmakers are poring over the …

Biden relief plan: Major victory gets mixed one-year reviews
2 years, 9 months ago

Biden relief plan: Major victory gets mixed one-year reviews

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — It’s not often that a president gets everything he asks for, but that’s what happened. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said she had no regrets about any inflation that the legislation might have caused, describing it as a “consequence that we have to work through.” “There’s no question that the American Rescue Plan put money in people’s pockets, kept …

Biden’s $1.9-trillion relief plan: Major victory gets mixed one-year reviews
2 years, 9 months ago

Biden’s $1.9-trillion relief plan: Major victory gets mixed one-year reviews

LA Times  

President Biden speaks before signing the $1.9-trillion American Rescue Plan in the Oval Office on March 11, 2021. Friday was the anniversary of Biden’s signing of the American Rescue Plan, and the second anniversary of the World Health Organization’s declaration that COVID-19 had become a global pandemic. Rep. Pramila Jayapal said she had no regrets about any inflation that the …

Column: The blockade of Build Back Better means millions more children condemned to poverty
2 years, 9 months ago

Column: The blockade of Build Back Better means millions more children condemned to poverty

LA Times  

Sen. Joe Manchin III is blocking key anti-poverty programs even though his state is one of the poorest in the nation. In its first six months, the expanded Child Tax Credit has shored up family finances amidst the continuing crisis, reduced child poverty and food insufficiency, increased families’ ability to meet their basic needs. “The weight of the evidence is …

Study: Child poverty rising after tax credit expires
2 years, 10 months ago

Study: Child poverty rising after tax credit expires

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The number of children in America living in poverty jumped dramatically after just one month without the expanded child tax credit payments, according to a new study. As part of Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue package last year, the existing child tax credit program was massively reshaped, boosting the amount of the payments, greatly expanding the pool of …

Child Poverty Spiked After Tax Credit Expired, Early Research Suggests
2 years, 10 months ago

Child Poverty Spiked After Tax Credit Expired, Early Research Suggests

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING WASHINGTON – Low-income parents faced more hardship in January after Congress failed to continue the monthly child tax credit payments that slashed child poverty last year. “The monthly child poverty rate increased from 12.1% in December 2021 to 17% in January 2022, the highest rate since the end of 2020,” the Columbia researchers said in their latest …

Money on the table: child credit $ available via tax returns
2 years, 10 months ago

Money on the table: child credit $ available via tax returns

Associated Press  

The Biden administration wants families with children to know that there is roughly $193 billion waiting for them — all they need to do is file their taxes to claim it. That is the only way to receive the second half of what you are owed.” The public push is occurring at a critical juncture for both the U.S. economy …

Child tax credit: Brace for a smaller tax refund if you got monthly payments in 2021
2 years, 10 months ago

Child tax credit: Brace for a smaller tax refund if you got monthly payments in 2021

CNN  

CNN — Many parents may not be so happy when they file their tax returns this year. That’s because more than 36 million families already received half of their enhanced child tax credit in monthly payments during 2021. More complicated scenarios Some parents may find they’ll get a much smaller refund – or even have to pay back some or …

Senators push Biden to fight to preserve the child tax credit
2 years, 10 months ago

Senators push Biden to fight to preserve the child tax credit

LA Times  

Five Democratic senators urged President Biden on Wednesday to continue to fight hard to extend the child tax credit, which he suggested last week might have to be dropped from a revamped version of his sweeping climate and domestic spending package. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Ron …

Goodbye ‘godsend’: Expiration of child tax credits hits home
2 years, 11 months ago

Goodbye ‘godsend’: Expiration of child tax credits hits home

LA Times  

Hairdresser Chelsea Woody stands outside her car at a grocery store in Charleston, W.Va. For the first time in half a year, families on Friday went without a monthly deposit from the child tax credit — a program that was intended to be part of President Biden’s legacy but has emerged instead as a flash point over who is worthy …

Op-Ed: One huge cost of letting the expanded child tax credit die? Harm to developing brains
2 years, 11 months ago

Op-Ed: One huge cost of letting the expanded child tax credit die? Harm to developing brains

LA Times  

Rep. Maxine Waters, left, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hold a news conference Aug. 12 at the Ethel Bradley Early Education Center in Los Angeles to discuss the importance of the expanded child tax credit. These payments reached 27 million children from families with taxable earnings too low to benefit from the annual tax refund provided by the previous child …

How 2021 Could Have Been Different for Biden
2 years, 11 months ago

How 2021 Could Have Been Different for Biden

Live Mint  

With inflation running at more than 6 percent and President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda in peril, ’tis the season for second-guessing. So I’d like to focus on what may well have been the original sin of the Biden administration and the narrow Democratic majority in Congress: last February’s decision to reject Senate Republicans’ offer of a $600 billion Covid relief …

Biden acknowledges $2T bill stalled, but vows it will pass
3 years ago

Biden acknowledges $2T bill stalled, but vows it will pass

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has all but acknowledged negotiations over his sweeping domestic policy package will likely push into the new year, as he does not yet have the votes in the Senate to lift the roughly $2 trillion bill to passage. “The best Christmas gift Washington could give working families would be putting this bad bill on ice,” …

Manchin’s child tax credit stance draws criticism back home
3 years ago

Manchin’s child tax credit stance draws criticism back home

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin’s reluctance to endorse the Biden administration’s expanded child tax credit program is rippling through his home state of West Virginia. The West Virginia senator has expressed concerns over multiple aspects of the roughly $2 trillion package, including the continuation of the expanded Child Tax Credit program. “There is no state that’s more impacted by the …

Biden acknowledges $2T bill stalled, but vows it will pass
3 years ago

Biden acknowledges $2T bill stalled, but vows it will pass

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday all but acknowledged negotiations over his sweeping domestic policy package will likely push into the new year, as he does not yet have the votes in the Senate to lift the roughly $2 trillion bill to passage. Schumer said Democrats “strongly disagree” with the parliamentarian’s decision and vowed to “pursue every means” so …

AP source: Biden, Manchin sharply divided over $2T Dem bill
3 years ago

AP source: Biden, Manchin sharply divided over $2T Dem bill

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Sen. Joe Manchin were said to be sharply divided Wednesday over Democrats’ huge social and environment bill, with the holdout senator pushing to erase the measure’s improved child tax credit, as leaders’ hopes of passing the legislation before Christmas appear to be fading away. Many Democrats consider the expanded child tax credit the bill’s …

COVID-expanded child tax credit benefit nears lapse
3 years ago

COVID-expanded child tax credit benefit nears lapse

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — It’s one of the most far-reaching of all the federal aid programs launched during the COVID-19 pandemic — up to $300 per child going directly into the bank accounts of families on the 15th of every month. The swift launch, and potentially quick end, to the bolstered child tax credit highlights the risks of enacting sweeping social policy …

What’s inside Biden’s $2T social and climate measure
3 years, 1 month ago

What’s inside Biden’s $2T social and climate measure

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s roughly $2 trillion plan to boost social and education programs as well as protect against global warming has passed the House, pushing it one step closer to law. FAMILY/CHILD CARE — Eligible workers would receive up to four weeks of paid leave to reimburse them for time taken to care for a new child or …

What’s in, and what’s out, as House nears vote on Biden bill
3 years, 1 month ago

What’s in, and what’s out, as House nears vote on Biden bill

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s now- $1.85 trillion plan to boost social and education programs as well as protect against global warming continues to be fine-tuned by Democrats in Congress with a new goal of completing work before Thanksgiving. TAX BREAKS — An expanded child tax credit would continue for another year. — The expanded Earned Income Tax Credit that …

Biden announces 'historic' deal — but no action yet
3 years, 1 month ago

Biden announces 'historic' deal — but no action yet

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Eager to have a deal in hand before …

Biden announces ‘historic’ deal — but still must win votes
3 years, 1 month ago

Biden announces ‘historic’ deal — but still must win votes

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Thursday that he and Democrats in Congress have reached a “historic” framework for his sweeping domestic policy package. One pivotal Democratic holdout, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, said, “I look forward to getting this done.” However, another, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, was less committal: “This is all in the hands of the House …

What’s in Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ framework?
3 years, 1 month ago

What’s in Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ framework?

LA Times  

The White House released a framework Thursday on President Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda, a $1.85-trillion outline that Democrats plan to pass in Congress without any Republican support. Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters that Democrats are “on a path to get this all done.” The White House said the cost of the framework is offset by nearly $2 trillion in …

Child tax credit tussle reflects debate over work incentives
3 years, 2 months ago

Child tax credit tussle reflects debate over work incentives

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — To supporters of the child tax credit, there has always been an “aha moment” — the recognition that as little as a few hundred dollars a month could be life-changing. Bennet and DeLauro are among the Democratic lawmakers who have pushed to make permanent an expanded child tax credit, which President Joe Biden’s coronavirus relief package transformed into …

Biden's equity agenda hangs in balance in the Congress spending negotiations
3 years, 2 months ago

Biden's equity agenda hangs in balance in the Congress spending negotiations

NPR  

Biden's equity agenda hangs in balance in the Congress spending negotiations Enlarge this image toggle caption Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images On his very first day in office, President Biden signed an executive order meant to begin unraveling the systemic barriers that have magnified economic inequality in the United States. Sponsor Message Where the agenda …

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