Parents to Miss First Child Tax Credit Payment in Six Months

As the first date that parents will miss a monthly payment from the expanded Child Tax Credit since July quickly approaches on Friday, editorial boards from coast to coast have begun to voice support for a revival of the policy.

“Child poverty is bad for the United States,” wrote the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board. “And we’re paying a terrible social and economic cost for allowing it to continue.”

3.8 million American Children will Fall Back into Poverty

To date, the payments have been responsible for keeping 3.8 million American children above the poverty line, says Columbia University, as well as lifting 6.6 million more children out of ‘deep poverty.’

In the past six months, the credit was responsible for reducing food insufficiency in households with adults and children by 24%, supporting parents returning to work amid the coronavirus pandemic and increasing tax revenues at the state level, according to some officials.

Now, with readers writing to them about the impact of a month without support, opinion writers have taken up the mantle to raise awareness of the problems parents are facing.

“Crafting a replacement [for CTC]  – and paying for it – should be a priority for lawmakers in Washington.” wrote the Editorial Board for Maine’s Bangor Daily News.

Work on the Child Tax Credit is Ongoing in Washington

Advocates for the Child Tax Credit have continued working in Washington towards an extension, despite the policy’s expiration in December. In fact, recent statements from Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) have indicated a possibility for new paths to a continuation of monthly support for families.

“My Family Security Act, a plan that I introduced in February to streamline existing family policies into one child benefit, has been analyzed and praised by progressives and conservatives alike and could serve as a starting point,”

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), in a statement online. 

In response, the White House expressed a desire to work with Congress on reaching a solution for parents, adding that a retroactive payment for the missed January support could be doubled up with a February check if a bill is passed.

“We’re going to work with anybody who’s interested in taking steps to lower costs for the American people, whether it’s on child care or elder care or healthcare,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

Until then, newspapers across the country show no sign of slowing their call for a policy with a strong bipartisan pedigree and resume of effective family support to be renewed.

“It’s deeply frustrating that one of the nation’s most potentially powerful tools to reduce childhood poverty — the expanded federal child tax credit — was allowed to expire this month without so much as a vote in the U.S. Senate,” wrote the LA Times Editorial Board