Lawmakers want IRS to send monthly payments from July to December.
Nearly a year after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, America’s families are still struggling to make ends meet financially and keep their children from going hungry.
So, to combat child poverty, which has worsened during the current crisis, there is a proposal already moving through Congress that would temporarily increase the child tax credit to, in essence, give families more stimulus checks.
These checks would be paid monthly and would consist of $300 per child.
The House Democrats’ plan is included in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 billion aid package, which is currently being discussed in Congress.
Biden proposed improving the current child credit to ensure that families receive at least $3,000 for each child under age 17, and $3,600 for children under age 6. This money would be provided for part of the year.
Lawmakers want the IRS to send monthly payments from July through December, at which time half of the expanded credit would be delivered.
This means parents would receive $300 per child ($250 for children over 6 and under 17) every month for six months.
The other half of the credit would be refundable next year, on parents’ 2021 tax returns.
As with the other stimulus checks, the money would likely help cover essential needs, such as food and rent, since these were the main ways the first direct payments were spent last spring, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.