WASHINGTON – House of Representatives Democrats are preparing to introduce legislation that would send up to $ 3,600 per child to millions of Americans, while lawmakers intend to change the tax code to achieve child poverty rates as part of the $ stimulus package 1.9 trillion from President Biden.
The proposal would expand the child tax credit to provide $ 3,600 per child under 6 and $ 3,000 per child under 17 over a year, gradually eliminating payments for Americans earning more than $ 75,000 and couples earning more than $ 150,000. The 22-page draft clause, previously reported by The Washington Post and obtained by The New York Times, is due to be formally presented on Monday, as lawmakers rush to fill the outline of Biden’s stimulus plan.
“The pandemic is driving families deeper and deeper into poverty and is devastating,” said Representative Richard E. Neal of Massachusetts, chairman of the Forms and Means Committee and one of the advocates of the provision. “This money will make a difference in a roof over someone’s head or the food on the table. This is how the tax code should work for those who need it most ”.
The credits would be divided into monthly payments from the IRS starting in July, based on the income of a person or family in 2020. Although the proposed credit is only one year, some Democrats said they would struggle to make it permanent, a scan movement that could reshape efforts to combat child poverty in America.
The one-year credit seems likely to garner enough support to be included in the stimulus package, but it will also have to overcome a series of difficult parliamentary obstacles because of the procedural maneuvers that Democrats are using to force the stimulus package, potentially without Republicans Support, support.
With the Democratic leadership in the House wanting the stimulus legislation to pass the House floor by the end of the month, Congress took action last week to speed up Biden’s stimulus plan, although details of the legislation are still being worked out. Spurred on by Democratic support in both chambers and a dull job report in January, Biden warned that he plans to carry out his plan, regardless of whether Republicans support him or not.
Republicans, who accused Biden of abandoning promises of bipartisanship and raised concerns about the country’s debt, largely rejected his plan because of its size and scope after Congress approved trillions of dollars in economic relief in 2020.
But the child tax credit could provide an opportunity for some bipartisan support, as Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican, introduced a similar measure that would send payments of up to $ 1,250 a month to families with children. Romney’s proposal, designed to encourage Americans to have more children while reducing child poverty rates, would distribute payments through the Social Security Administration and offset costs by eliminating other expenses from the government’s safety net.
“If you’re President Biden and you want to have a bipartisan – working together with people on the other side, bringing people together in unity, he has the opportunity to do that,” Sen. Patrick J. Toomey, Pennsylvania Republican, said in “ State of the Union ”by CNN. (Mr. Toomey said he would not support Mr. Biden’s proposal because of the price.)
Janet L. Yellen, the Treasury secretary, warned on Sunday that the United States labor market was stagnant and in a “deep hole” that could take years to emerge if lawmakers did not quickly approve the stimulus package.
Yellen countered concerns that large spending would lead to inflation and said the economy would face the kind of long, slow recovery it experienced after the 2008 financial crisis if lawmakers did very little.
“The most important risk is leaving workers and communities affected by the pandemic and the economic damage it represents,” Yellen told CNN. “We have to make sure that it doesn’t permanently damage their lives.
Yellen said that the approval of the stimulus package could allow the economy to reach full employment next year. Failure to do so, she said, could leave the unemployment rate high for years to come.
The provision that expands the child tax credit is among the legislative proposals aimed at addressing the inequalities aggravated by the pandemic and helping families to resist the country’s unstable economy. Columbia University researchers found that Biden’s general stimulus proposal could halve child poverty by 2021 because of expanding child credit, as well as other changes in tax credits and expansions of unemployment and food assistance benefits.
“The time has come to make dramatic cuts in child poverty that can improve the lives and future of millions of children,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, on Sunday. She said she would push to make the credit permanent.
Chris Cameron and Jim Tankersley contributed reports.