Democrats hope to salvage popular child tax credit after spending bill falters
by Susan Ferrechio, Chief Congressional Correspondent |
| December 22, 2021 06:30 AM
For months, Democrats have touted the extended child tax credit as the crown jewel of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better legislation, but the subsidy faces extinction in the wake of Sen. Joe Manchin’s announcement that he will not vote for the bill.
Congress initially passed an increased child tax credit in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, and Democrats planned on extending it for one year in the Build Back Better Act, a $1.75 trillion social welfare and green energy bill.
The credit provided up to $300 per child each month. Proponents said the money has served as a financial lifeline for parents during the pandemic and has slashed childhood poverty significantly.
The measure was set to expire at the end of the year, and the last round of checks was issued in December.
Democrats hoped to renew the payments in Build Back Better and to pass the measure by the end of the year, preventing any significant lapse in the payments. But without Manchin’s support, the measure is stalled indefinitely.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said the Senate would vote on the bill, despite Manchin’s objections to it, as soon as lawmakers return in January.
Proponents hope that public support of the child tax credit will help pressure Manchin to change his mind.
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