Many parents received up to $300 per kid as part of the expanded Child Tax Credit of 2021 when stimulus checks were first distributed at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, Congress has yet to pass more stimulus checks, and President Joe Biden’s idea to extend the Child Tax Credit through 2022 was defeated in the Senate, as per CBS News. However, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, has proposed restoring the monthly Child Tax Credits that were part of the 2021 stimulus package.
Romney’s Family Security Act would provide $350 to qualified families with children under the age of five, and $250 to households with children aged six to seventeen. Expectant parents would also be able to start receiving compensation four months before their baby’s due date.
How much would the monthly payments be?
Families’ monthly payments would be capped at $1,250. “American families are under increasing financial hardship, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and marriage and birth rates are at all-time lows,” Romney stated. “On top of that, our family assistance system has not been fully overhauled in nearly three decades, and our shifting economy has left millions of families behind.”
Romney’s proposal also calls for income levels to phase off the payments. For example, if a single tax filer earns more than $200,000, or if a married couple earns more than $400,000 jointly, $50 will be taken from monthly payments for every $1,000 earned above the threshold.
Work requirements would also be included in the law. Romney’s idea was initially submitted in 2021, but it never gained momentum with legislators. However, since Biden’s “Build Back Better” proposal failed, Romney’s bill is regaining traction.
According to Romney’s plan, the benefit would be decreased by $50 for every $1,000 earned beyond certain income criteria, which would be $200,000 for single taxpayers and $400,000 for joint filers. It would also impose job restrictions on the recipients. Last year, Romney introduced the bill, but it failed to gain traction among lawmakers. Per Oregon Live, it was just revived when Biden’s Build Back Better Plan, which included Child Tax Credit extensions, died.
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