In a draft proposal, the IRS would deposit checks for $ 300 per month per child under 6 and $ 250 per month per child 6 to 17 years. This would give parents $ 3,000 a year for each child between 6 and 17 years old, and $ 3,600 per child under 6 years.
The source also confirmed to CNN that the Chair of the House’s Ways and Means Committee, Richard Neal, of Massachusetts, is directly involved in the effort to draft the expansion of the child tax credit, as well as the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Rosa DeLauro, from Connecticut.
The wording of the proposed legislation was first reported by The Washington Post.
Eligibility for the benefit, similar to stimulus checks, would be based on the family income from the previous fiscal year and would be eliminated by a certain amount of income, the Post reported. According to the bill, families would be entitled to full monthly benefits, even if they owed more in taxes than the amount of credit, according to the newspaper.
A White House official did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Biden had previously said he wants to expand the child tax credit and last week he unveiled a $ 1.9 trillion proposal that included expanded benefits, along with $ 1,400 stimulus checks and increased unemployment benefits. Announced as the American Rescue Plan, the package increased many of the measures in Congress’ historic $ 3 trillion coronavirus relief bill in March and the $ 900 billion December legislation that was reduced to garner support of Senate Republicans.
CNN reported that Biden’s stimulus proposal already faces Republican objections, and Senate Democrats are laying the groundwork for using a rare procedural tactic known as reconciliation to approve important parts of the package if Republicans stall their efforts.
The White House has asked for patience when it comes to negotiating and approving the stimulus plan on a bipartisan basis through the normal Senate process, but Biden’s team said it was not willing to “take any tools off the table”.
The current child tax credit provides up to $ 2,000 per child under the age of 17. The credit is phased out for single parents with a modified adjusted gross income above $ 200,000 and $ 400,000 for couples.
CNN’s Tami Luhby and Katie Lobosco contributed to this report.
