We Must Permanently Extend the Expanded Child Tax Credit

In 2021, more than 4 million children were lifted out of poverty thanks to a single legislative act – an extraordinary achievement in our nation’s history.

Slashing America’s child poverty rate in half – to a record low of 5.2% – meant fewer children going to school hungry, improved pediatric medical care and lasting positive impacts on the trajectory of children’s lives.

It’s a feat we can repeat – if my colleagues in Congress join me in urging us to act.

This achievement did not require a breakthrough in scientific research or a policy epiphany but a single provision in the American Rescue Plan: expanding the Child Tax Credit. This simple credit helps millions of families in California and across the country afford basic necessities like food, rent, education and childcare. It’s a lifeline for those struggling the most under the pandemic and the weight of inflation and rising prices, helping them keep food on the table, their children in school and their families from falling behind.

The expansion was critical because it made more children eligible than ever before, including more than 20 million children in America’s lowest income families who had previously been excluded. Those children are disproportionately children of color, children being raised by single parents and children in larger families whose families could now claim these essential benefits for the first time ever.

Unfortunately, Congress let the expansion expire in January of this year – and with it, our hard-won progress evaporated as quickly as it had materialized. Nearly 4 million children fell back into poverty in a single month and now almost 10 million are at risk of dropping back below the poverty line, including 7 million children of color, and nearly 2 million children here in California alone.

My colleagues have been fighting to get a number of bills passed before 2022 comes to an end but I believe this must be our top priority – which is why I have spent the last several weeks urging Speaker Pelosi and House leadership to permanently extend the program now before the start of the next Congress, when it is unlikely to be taken up by a Republican majority.

Congress made it the top priority this session to invest in the next generation and their chance for healthy, successful futures. Expanding the Child Tax Credit was one of our biggest accomplishments, with historic and immediate results. Extending it should be a no-brainer.

Ultimately, this is about more than just saving children from the dire impacts of poverty. It’s about investing in their ability to thrive, now and for the rest of their lives. Children who grow up healthier stay healthier. They graduate from high school, go on to college and go on to earn more money and support their own healthy, stable families. They stay out of the criminal justice system – saving taxpayers everywhere millions on law enforcement and child protection costs. They have a better chance at the futures we all dream of for our own children.

We have an opportunity to make these aspirations a reality. The expanded Child Tax Credit was a proven success that touched the lives of more than 60 million children, including 8 million here in California. All we have to do is extend it and make it permanent.

The consequences of inaction are dire. Millions of children are counting on us for this critical lifeline, especially as inflation continues to take its toll on their families’ pocketbooks. And I fear what next year’s data will reveal about the disastrous effects of letting the program expire.

The simplicity of this solution to child poverty should tell us two things. First, the answer is not complicated and we can dramatically cut poverty with the stroke of a pen. And second, poverty is a choice that we are making as a country. It is a poor choice, so let’s bring it to an end.