By: The Editorial Board
The poverty rate for children across the U.S. has surged since the expanded Child Tax Credit ended in December, according to a study from Columbia University researchers.
The expansion of the Child Tax Credit, which was part of President Biden’s Build Back Better plan, helped drastically lower child poverty after it passed last year. The expansion gave parents up to $300 a month per child from last March to the end of last December.
Money that families said helped them pay for essentials like rent, food and gas.
Despite the impact of the life-saving measure for millions of families, Republicans in the US House and Senate voted against the expansion, and in the Senate, Joe Manchin of West Virginia followed in lockstep.
The study found that an additional 3.7 million children are now in poverty relative to the end of December, with Black and Latino children seeing the biggest percentage point increases.
A total of 12.6 million children were living below the poverty line as of last month, compared with 8.9 million in December, the study found.
“Today’s report should shake Washington to its core. This is not a moment for staking out political positions. Congress needs to compromise on a targeted, monthly child tax credit that will can reverse these grievous losses,” stated Paolo Mastrangelo, head of policy and government affairs for Humanity Forward, which is pushing for the revival of the credit. “Any extension, even one that is much more targeted in size and scope, will help reduce the tragic number of families entering poverty.”
