OP-ED: Help is on the way with the expanded Child Tax Credit

Thankfully, since President Joe Biden was sworn into office in January, more than three million jobs have been created and unemployment claims have been drastically reduced. With over 150 million Americans now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and more than 330 million shots administered nationwide, we are beginning to return to our life as we knew it. And I’m thrilled to report even more help is on the way as we continue to Build Back Better for the American people.

Thanks to the passage of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which I proudly voted to support, starting on July 15 through the remainder of 2021, nearly all hardworking families with children will begin to receive monthly Child Tax Credit payments of up to $250 per month per child ages 6-17 and up to $300 per month for every young child under 6 years old. 

In our 40th Congressional District, that means 55,400 households will receive an average benefit of $3,400. This benefit will cover a stunning 96.3%, or 204,000 of our District’s children, lift 26,600 children out of poverty, including 8,700 children under the age of six, and lift 9,600 children out of deep poverty.

I am proud that the basis for expanding the Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan was a study by the National Academy of Science (NAS) I commissioned with my colleague Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-13) as part of our years of work to address child poverty. This study found that an expanded Child Tax Credit would be an integral solution for reducing child poverty nationwide. 

The NAS study gave my colleague Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s (CT-3) Child Tax Credit bill, which she has worked on for years, the credibility it needed to be included in the American Rescue Plan (ARP).

As a mother and grandmother who has met with so many parents in our district struggling to make ends meet and provide for their children, I’m elated that these historic changes in the expanded Child Tax Credit will now offer a lifeline to them and most  working- and middle-class families throughout our nation. 

The expanded Child Tax Credit will put badly needed dollars in the pockets of families for food, childcare, gas to get to work, and other necessities they need to ensure their children can have a healthier and brighter future.

An important fact: the Child Tax Credit is designed to be nontaxable income - so it will not impact a family’s eligibility for benefits like Medicaid, SNAP/Food Stamps, TANF, and others.

Who qualifies for the credit? Nearly all families who filed tax returns in 2019 or 2020 with one or more children ages birth to 17, or who signed up to receive a relief payment from the IRS, will automatically receive payments with no further action required.

Families who were not required to file a tax return for 2020 and who qualify for the credit must go online and use the IRS Child Tax Credit Non-Filer Sign Up Tool, available at https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/child-tax-credit-non-filer-sign-up-tool. If this applies to you, I encourage you to sign up today.

I’m also excited that in addition to the expanded Child Tax Credit, even more help is on the way as we continue to Build Back Better by passing President Biden’s legislation to create jobs, grow our economy, and build a stronger, safer, and more prosperous America for everyone.  

However, everyone must be vaccinated if our nation is to recover fully from the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, especially with the threat of the new and more dangerous Delta variant and others. If you have not already done so, I strongly encourage you to get vaccinated - not only to help prevent the spread of the deadly COVID virus and its variants, but to protect yourself, your family, and your friends.

May you and yours stay safe and healthy. Please know you can always count on me to work on your behalf in Washington, D.C.