Washington, D.C. – Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet welcomed new data from the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey that found economic hardship declined in households with children following the first payments of the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) in July. The data also shows food insufficiency dropped in households with children.
“I’m extremely encouraged to see the transformative effect the expanded Child Tax Credit is having on families across the country,” said Bennet. “The improvements to the CTC ensure parents can use the benefit for what they need that month, whether it be groceries, rent, child care, or – especially during back-to-school season – school-related expenses. The security provided by the expanded CTC is exactly why I’m urging an extension of the credit for years to come.”
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, about 35 million eligible families received the first monthly payment of the expanded CTC in mid-July. The Census Bureau survey shows that among families with children both financial hardship and food insufficiency dropped after the first payments arrived. The survey found that 47% of families used their payments to purchase food, while 17% of families with at least one child under age 5 spent their CTC on child care.
The Census Bureau’s full analysis is available HERE.
Bennet has championed the expansion of the CTC for years. In March 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law a one-year expansion of the CTC, based on Bennet’s American Family Act, in the American Rescue Plan Act. This expansion has the potential to cut nationwide child poverty nearly in half this year and benefit 90% of American children.
In his American Families Plan, Biden proposed permanent full refundability of the CTC, as well as extending the enhanced CTC value and monthly payments through 2025. The president also committed to working with Congress to make the full, expanded CTC permanent. Bennet and his colleagues continue to push for a permanent expansion of the Child Tax Credit in the Build Back Better package.