Letter: Child tax credit makes a difference | Letters

Tax season may be behind us, but it’s important to remember how important the expanded child tax credit has been for children and families.

Changes to credit in 2021, including sending it as a monthly payment, have had a profound impact, according to new research from the Brookings Institution. Child poverty has fallen by 40%. Recipients of the tax credit led healthier lives, invested more in their children’s education, and were less likely to rely on payday loans. Families have spent their rent, food and clothing payments for their children – the same costs are rising for all of us now.

But some lawmakers have stopped an extension of tax credit payments. As a result, 3.7 million children fell below the poverty line in January. And 1.4 million households that had previously benefited from the tax credit have left their jobs because they can no longer afford childcare.

Economists say extending the child tax credit is key to helping families facing rising costs from inflation. How much more evidence do lawmakers need before they do the right thing?

I call on our members of Congress to extend the Child Tax Credit with a permanent full refund and resume monthly payments immediately.

Ann Marie Sinica, Lincoln