(RoyalPatriot.com )- According to 19FortyFive, one of the Biden presidency’s greatest achievements and greatest failures was the expanded child tax credit.
The American Rescue Plan Act, passed in March 2021, included the expanded credit, which had direct payments to most American families every year between July and December 2021. According to numerous studies, the credit significantly reduced child poverty.
The Build Back Better Act, a sizable spending package that would have extended the credit by one year, failed to pass the Senate after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) voiced his opposition. As a result, the child tax credit returned to its pre-2021 state at the beginning of 2022 without the direct payments. The progress made in lowering child poverty has been updated as a result.
This year’s Build Back Better was replaced by the Inflation Reduction Act, which did not include the credit. But the White House decided not to revisit the expanded child tax credit idea this year due to Manchin’s persistent opposition and the increase in inflation. The possibility of a compromise between the child tax credit and the “child allowance” put forth by Massachusetts senator Mitt Romney in 2021 was discussed at one point, but those discussions never progressed.
The result was that the Democrats had made a significant accomplishment but could not build on it or even run a campaign. Additionally, the Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives even though they won a Senate seat in the midterm elections, theoretically negating the need for Manchin’s vote. (Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who voted in favor of the American Rescue Plan Act, later left the Democratic Party to become an Independent.)
Therefore, one might assume that the expanded child tax credit has expired. However, there are currently discussions to partially restore the credit.
Politico reports that the White House is considering a compromise deal. It’s unclear what form such a deal would take, and Politico called it a “long-shot deal.” A bipartisan agreement in which Republicans receive corporate tax breaks and Democrats receive the child tax credit is one possibility. At the end of the year, the omnibus spending agreement might include all of them.
Advocates say the issue won’t be going away anytime soon, despite pressure on Democrats to act before they lose control of the House.
