Millions of children were lifted out of poverty in 2021, thanks to a more generous child tax credit that included monthly checks sent out to more families.
Now, the lame duck session of Congress offers a last chance this year to renew the expanded child tax credit that lapsed in December 2021.
As the end of year approaches, many Democrats on Capitol Hill have raised their voices in support of reinstating the more generous child tax credit.
“This is a moment where we must make a lasting commitment, not just in Congress, but as a nation, to saying that not one child growing up in the richest country on the planet should be growing up in poverty,” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said at a Capitol Hill event urging urgent action on the child tax credit.
The child tax credit was a key policy that helped usher a record-breaking decline in poverty in 2021, a new report from the U.S. Joint Economic Committee Democrats found.
The number of children living in poverty fell to historic lows as the full child tax credit was made available to an additional 19 million low-income children.
This was largely driven by the enhanced credit’s full refundability, which made all families eligible for the full credit, with the exception of the highest-income families, according to the Joint Economic Committee.
