A Permanent Child Tax Credit Isn’t Just What Our Economy Needs — It’s What Voters Want.
By Rep. Rosa DeLauro
Today, the third monthly payment of the expanded Child Tax Credit goes out to millions of working families across the country — providing a boost to local economies while ensuring parents can cover the all-too-high cost associated with caring for children.
The expanded Child Tax Credit is a crucial tax cut that economist Melissa Kearney calls “one of the best ways the government can allot its money to spur economic growth and help the nation’s youth.” Despite this, Congress may let it expire this December.
Kearney is right. In the short time between its passing and its expiration, the expanded Child Tax Credit will have lifted the burden of this ongoing pandemic off the backs of parents and provided a much-needed shot in the arm of our nation’s small businesses. The Census Bureau found that hunger among families with children fell by a quarter after the first checks of the expanded credit were distributed to families. And Columbia University found that the credit lifted 3 million children out of poverty after just the first check. Recent analysis from the Niskanen Center estimates that such a credit will generate $27.6 billion in additional spending for our economy, produce an estimated $1.9 billion in revenue for local governments, and provide support for more than half a million new jobs.
This all means more jobs and economic growth going to communities that need it — and fewer families going hungry. Why should we let the expanded Child Tax Credit expire after bearing witness to all this progress we have felt in just three short months?
The short answer: we shouldn’t. If we want this economic growth permanent, then the expanded credit must be permanent, too.
It’s not only what our economy needs — but what voters want. New polling from Fighting Chance for Families finds that a majority of voters support the expanded Child Tax Credit by a +24-point margin. This includes Democrats by a +67-point margin, Independents by a +17-point margin, and more than a third of Republicans.
Ensuring the expanded Child Tax Credit does not expire must be as top a priority for Democrats in Congress as it is for President Biden and voters — and it’s why we must make the expansion permanent.
Congressman Rosa DeLauro (@rosadelauro) represents Connecticut’s third district and is the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee