“Thanks to President Biden and Democrats, and no thanks to a single Republican in Congress, American families will receive their third direct payment through the Child Tax Credit, putting money in the pockets of millions of families,” a statement from the Democratic National Committee announced Wednesday. “Whether these payments are going to household expenses or into college savings accounts, these middle class tax cuts are already making a real difference in the lives of working parents across the United States. In fact, hunger rates among children fell dramatically after just the first Child Tax Credit payments were distributed in July.”
The DNC presented examples of what Americans across the country are reading and seeing as payments start hitting bank accounts today. In Florida, the Orlando Sentinel said, “The pandemic impacted the finances of millions of families and many have taken advantage of the American Rescue Plan signed into law by President Joe Biden in March, especially with the Child Tax Credit. The credit was expanded and is available to nearly 3.8 million children in Florida, a financial assistance that could reduce child poverty in the state by 38 percent, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the child tax credit included in the American Rescue Plan “has provided parents with a unique opportunity to build up a college savings fund…The monthly payments — representing an advance on half of the taxpayer’s expected 2021 credit amount — would come out to six monthly payments of $250 a month for each child age 6 to 17; and $300 a month per child under age 6.
In West Virginia, television station WTRF reported that “as Covid-19 has taken a toll on many families, many who were just barely getting by are getting a boost, with the help of the expanded Child Tax Credit Program.Jenny Showalter, who lives in Wheeling, knows the impact of the program. It then showed an interview with Showalter who explained how narrowly she’d been getting by.
In Arizona, the Yuma Sun ran a guest column stating, “This week, help is here yet again for the families of 1.3 million Arizona children, and it’s all thanks to Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress. As Child Tax Credit payments hit bank accounts across the state and deliver some much-needed help to working families, I’m reminded of the good that government can do when we put our minds to it.”
Similar exemplary reports also appeared in the Georgia Recorder and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Biden’s expanded Child Tax Credit recognizes that most families in today’s economy don’t have a nest egg to cover sudden expenses. The CTC benefits 90 percent of American families. It’s not here to make us millionaires. Its purpose is to ease the constant stress that our kids can see on our faces when we worry about another school expense, unexpected medical bill, or illness,” the Georgia paper reported.
