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Congressman Krishnamoorthi Highlights Success Of Child Tax Credit In Select Subcommittee On The Coronavirus Crisis Hearing

September 22, 2021

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi participated in a hearing of the Select Subcommittee On The Coronavirus Crisis on pandemic relief programs created by the CARES Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, and the American Rescue Plan Act. One of these pandemic relief initiatives was the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC). During the hearing, Congressman Krishnamoorthi questioned Dr. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President of American Action Forum, on his previous comments that the expanded CTC "is not much of an incentive to work." Congressman Krishnamoorthi highlighted the benefits that the expanded CTC has had for working families, including that of households earning less than $25,000 and receiving the CTC, 57 percent spent their first payment on food, 52 percent on utilities, 41 percent on clothing, 39 percent on housing, and 31 percent on school supplies. Overall, 3.3 million fewer families reported lacking enough food to eat just one month after the first payments were issued.

"I am consistently disappointed with leaders like Dr. Holtz-Eakin who make villains out of hardworking Americans who need government assistance during a global public health crisis through programs like the expanded Child Tax Credit," Congressman Krishnamoorthi said. "I was proud to vote for the American Rescue Plan that funded the expanded Child Tax Credit, which allowed working families to buy food, pay utilities, pay rent, buy clothes and school supplies for their children. The expanded Child Tax Credit allows parents – especially working mothers who have disproportionately been forced to leave the workforce during the pandemic – to hire child care and go back to work rather than providing a disincentive to work like opponents argue. At the end of the day, this pandemic relief program was successful in carrying out its goals of supporting working families and children. We provided these pandemic relief programs during the pandemic because we didn't want children to starve, and we need to make efforts now to continue to build on these programs in our post-pandemic economy."

The American Rescue Plan increased the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child for children over the age of six and from $2,000 to $3,600 for children under the age of six. All families get the full credit if they make up to $150,000 for a couple or $112,500 for a family with a single parent. In the 8th District of Illinois, 79.3% of children benefit from the expanded Child Tax Credit, which amounts to 135,800 children.