WASHINGTON – Top Democrats are preparing to introduce legislation that will send up to $ 3,600 per child to millions of Americans, as lawmakers want to change the tax code to determine child poverty rates as part of President Biden’s comprehensive $ 1.9 billion incentive package.
The proposal would extend the tax credit for children to $ 3,600 per child under 6 and $ 3,000 per child up to 17 over the course of a year, and phase out payments for Americans earning more than $ 75,000 and couples earning more than $ 150,000 earn. The 22-page draft, previously reported by The Washington Post and obtained by The New York Times, is expected to be formally unveiled Monday, while lawmakers will outline Mr. Biden’s stimulus plan must be completed.
“The pandemic is driving families deeper and deeper into poverty, and it’s devastating,” said Representative Richard E. Neal of Massachusetts, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and one of the champions of the provision. ‘This money is going to be the difference in a roof over someone’s head or food on their table. This is how the tax code is supposed to work for those who need it most. ”
The credits will be split into monthly payments from the Internal Revenue Service from July, based on the income of a person or family in 2020. Although the proposed credit only lasts a year, some Democrats have said they will fight for it permanently. to make a comprehensive movement that could reform efforts to combat child poverty in America.
It seems that the one-year credit is likely to gain enough support to be included in the stimulus package, but it will also have to remove a series of difficult parliamentary barriers due to the procedure the Democrats use to work through the stimulus package, possibly without a Republican. . support.
Because the House’s Democratic leadership is aiming to get the stimulus legislation approved on the floor by the end of the month, Congress last week decided to approve Mr. Stimulus’ stimulus plan. Promote prayer, even if the legislation is still being worked out. Educated by the support of the Democrats in both chambers and a weak report on jobs in January, Mr. Biden warned that he intends to continue with his plan, regardless of whether Republicans support it.
Republicans, which Mr. Biden accused of abandoning the promises of duality and expressing concern about the country’s debt has largely deviated from its plan because of its scale and scope after Congress approved trillions of dollars in 2020 for economic relief.
But the child tax credit could provide an opportunity for dual support, as Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah, introduced a similar measure that would send payments of up to $ 1,250 a month to families with children. The proposal of mr. Romney, which is intended to encourage Americans to have more children while lowering child poverty rates, will spread payments through the Social Security Administration and reimburse costs by eliminating other state safety net spending.
“If your president is Biden, and you’re serious about having a two-party system – working with people on the other side and bringing people together in unity, he has the opportunity to do so,” Senator said. Pennsylvania Republican Patrick J. Toomey spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union.” (Mr Toomey said he would not support Mr Biden’s proposal because of the price.)
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen warned Sunday that the U.S. labor market is stagnating and could run into a ‘deep hole’, which could take years before lawmakers fail to pass the stimulus package quickly.
Me. Yellen refuted concerns that large spending would lead to inflation, saying the economy would experience the long, slow recovery it experienced after the 2008 financial crisis if legislators did too little.
“The most important risk is that we frighten workers and communities by the pandemic and the economic toll it takes,” she said. Yellen told CNN. “We need to make sure it does not permanently hamper their lives.”
Me. Yellen said implementing the stimulus package would enable the economy to get full employment by next year. If she does not do so, she could increase the unemployment rate for years to come.
The provision that increases the child tax credit is among the legislative proposals aimed at addressing the inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic and helping families weather the country’s faltering economy. Researchers at Columbia University have found that Biden’s general stimulus proposal could halve child poverty by 2021 due to the expansion of child credit, as well as other changes to tax credits and the expansion of unemployment and food aid benefits.
“The moment is here to make dramatic cuts in child poverty that can improve the lives and futures of millions of children,” Representative Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut and chair of the Home Credit Committee, said Sunday. She said she would try to make the credit permanent.
Chris Cameron and Jim Tankersley contribution made.