Senate failed to pass Build Back Better, renew vital tax cut for working families by end of 2021
Today, tens of millions of working families will miss out on expanded CTC monthly payment, the first month they won’t receive one since July 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – January 14th, 2022
Contact: Sumer Shaikh, Green New Deal Network, sshaikh@greennewdealnetwork.org, 774-545-0128
Washington, D C. –– Today, working families across the nation will not receive their enhanced child tax credit (CTC) monthly payment for the first time in six months after the Senate failed to renew this vital supercharged tax cut either through the Build Back Better Act (BBBA).
This lifeline disappears just as the Omicron variant spreads across the nation, impeding parents’ ability to return to work safely. Due to the failure of our leaders to protect working families, 10 million children will fall back into poverty. If the enhanced tax cut continued into 2022, child poverty would fall by 40%.
Representative Barbara Lee, D-CA-13, a members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, advocates, and working parents affected by inaction in the Senate deplored the expanded CTC monthly payment coming to an end and memorialized this missed January payment:
Congresswoman Barbara Lee representing California’s 13th Congressional District said, “In the past year, I’ve heard from countless parents that just having an extra $250 to $300 per month often meant the difference between keeping food on the table or going hungry, making rent or getting evicted. Opposition to the Child Tax Credit risks sending 10 million children back into poverty. It is shameful that we have let these payments lapse even one day. My colleagues and I will continue fighting in Congress and alongside advocates to pass Build Back Better and permanently address child poverty.”
“As a mother of four, I stay home to care for my family while my husband provides the sole income for our household. Between covering the cost of necessary prescription drugs, especially for my youngest child who has health challenges, and expenses like car repairs for my family’s sole vehicle, we’re strapped on resources to provide for our family,” Jen Cousins, parent of four in Florida. “My husband works hard, we budget, we’re thrifty and buy generic drugs as much as possible. But healthcare is expensive, maintaining our sole car is expensive. I don’t know what my family is going to have to do this month, or even the next, in order to make ends meet without the monthly child tax credit payments. Will we go without a car or necessary medication?”
“Currently, I live with my two young children in the Bronx in a one bedroom apartment with a foldout mattress. When I saw the CTC was expiring, my immediate reaction was that I can’t afford to move my family into the larger space we need and deserve,” said Benjamin Van Dyne, father of two in New York City. “Had the payments continued, I would have been able to finally move my family into a two-bedroom apartment to improve the quality of our lives. As they grow, my kids need their own space, and god knows, I need mine. The CTC payments have kept us afloat for the last 6-months.”
“Our elected leaders must take bold action in order to create an economy and society where every family can thrive, no matter your background or where you come from. The Senate has a moral obligation to pass Build Back Better, extend the Child Tax Credit, and protect our vote” said SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry. “Voters—including the voters of West Virginia where CTC has supported 8 in 10 children—are demanding a game-changing investment in home care, action on climate change, and good union jobs. It’s time for the Senate to pass Build Back Better, deliver for children and working families, and lift up entire communities. Our future depends on it.”
“Millions of families were relying on the January Child Tax Credit payment to provide some financial stability as we begin the pandemic’s third year. But instead of extending this lifeline for struggling families to put food on the table or a roof over their head, the Senate failed to pass the Build Back Better Act. Make no mistake that parents need this support—families are relying on monthly Child Checks and will continue to demand Congress send them the relief they desperately need,” ParentsTogether Action’s Campaign Director Allison Johnson said.
“Our priorities are out of line if we fail to extend a program that nearly cut child poverty in half. This is commonsense and proven-to-work policy. Working families continue to struggle, and they need a lifeline. Congress must extend and make permanent the child tax credit,” People’s Action Director of Federal Affairs Megan Essaheb said.
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About the Green New Deal Network
The Green New Deal Network is a 50-state campaign with a national coordinating table of 15 organizations: Center for Popular Democracy, Climate Justice Alliance, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, Greenpeace, Indigenous Environmental Network, Indivisible, Movement for Black Lives, MoveOn, People’s Action, Right To The City Alliance, Service Employees International Union, Sierra Club, Sunrise Movement, US Climate Action Network, and the Working Families Party.