WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday praised the expanded child tax credit, a part of his administration’s Covid-19 relief package aimed at ending child poverty and helping middle-class families.
Speaking at the White House, Biden’s remarks come on the day some of that money will start to hit families’ bank accounts, which includes $300 a month for each child under age 6 and up to $250 a month for each one ages 6 to 17.
“This can make it possible for a hardworking parent to say to his or her child: ‘Honey, we get, you can get your new braces now. We can get you a tutor to help you in the math class you’re having trouble with. We can get you the sports equipment you need to sign up for your first team you’re going to play on,’” Biden said.
As a part of the plan, families will receive a total of $3,600 for each child under age 6 and $3,000 for each one ages 6 to 17 for 2021. Biden said half of that will be monthly installments between now and December and the rest will come out next spring.
Biden highlighted the prevision in the American Rescue Plan, which Congress passed in March, makes the credit fully refundable so that families who didn’t qualify for the full credit previously can now have access to it.
“To give you a sense of how transformative this is: This would be the largest ever one-year decrease in child poverty in the history of the United States of America. Historic reduction in child poverty among white, Black and Latinos and AAPI communities,” Biden said. “The benefits will be felt for years.”
Biden took the moment to praise Democratic lawmakers who worked on the relief plan and slammed Republicans who opposed it.
The President then urged lawmakers to not let this effort expire after this year, saying it can be paid for by the wealthy and corporations paying their fair share of taxes. That is something Republicans have been against and the main reason they voted against it.
“We shouldn’t let child poverty continue to stay in the conscience or drag down our economy,” he said. “And so I say to my colleagues in Congress, this tax cut for working families is something we should extend, not end, next year,” he said.
