WASHINGTON−About 250 U.S. lawmakers are trying to put the $300-a-month child tax credit payments back in American wallets − this time with a $2,000 baby bonus.
It’s a Democratic proposal with enough Republican support to seem like more than a wishlist and would make permanent the expanded child tax credit signed into law under the American Rescue Plan. The legislation, one of President Joe Biden’s signature programs in office, boosted the 2021 tax credit, with the most significant increases going to lower-income families with children.
What’s in the new stimulus plan?
The new proposal would:
- Remove an earnings requirement from the full credit
- Expand the maximum child tax credit to $250 per month
- Continue the young-child tax credit of $300 per month for children 6 years old and younger
- Provide a “baby bonus,” an extra $2,000 in the month a new baby is born
That’s according to a fact sheet from the office of Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.
Who’s leading the push for a new stimulus?
DeLauro introduced the legislation in June, saying the expanded monthly payments have already “helped parents pay bills, keep healthy and nutritious food on the table, afford school clothes and supplies, pay for a music lesson or a new pair of cleats, or manage a mortgage or rent payment.”
Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., another sponsor of the legislation, called on her fellow lawmakers to “build” on the American Rescue Plan “by permanently reinstating this monthly benefit to ensure that every child has a fair chance at success.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., a third lead co-sponsor, said in 2021 the child tax credit reached more than 61 million children and lifted nearly 4 million of them out of poverty. “No government program has impacted so many Americans in such a short amount of time,” he said.
Major Democratic figures are among the bill’s 210 cosponsors, from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
A companion bill in the Senate, led by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has 40 cosponsors.
Will there be another stimulus payment?
It’s a challenge to get anything through a divided government, with Republicans narrowly holding the House and Democrats narrowly holding the Senate. The clash of the political parties brought the country within hours of defaulting on its debt a little more than a month ago. Passing another tax policy wouldn’t be simple or easy.
Despite challenging odds, it could pass if it becomes a bargaining chip in spending negotiations that can give both parties what they want − a business tax cut for Republicans and a child tax credit for Democrats. Republican members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus could be key negotiators in such a deal, and some conservative senators are also considering the plan.
Here’s what Rep. Don. Bacon told Punchbowl News last month: “I think Republicans want to consider it as part of a compromise for the Democrats,” he said. “We know that that’s like one of their top issues. This may be a bargaining chip that we can use.”
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., said he would use his seat on the House Ways and Means Committee to push for that reform, according to Punchbowl News.
“This issue is not dead,” he said, according to the outlet. “It’s going to be a live, open issue for this entire cycle, because you have people like me on the committee who actually do support it.”
But not everyone agrees. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told Punchbowl it was one thing to support the child tax credit during the pandemic, but “those times are gone.”
