The President refines his Plan for American Families, which, as a first step, aims to extend direct aid per child until 2025.
This week, President Joe Biden will unveil details of his Plan for American Families, the second phase of his blueprint for his economic package that began with the American Jobs Plan.
Although a group of at least 75 congressional Democrats are pushing for a fourth direct stimulus check to families, including monthly payments until the pandemic ends, it is unclear whether the president will integrate any of those proposals into his blueprint. However, the final word is not yet out.
What is confirmed is that President Biden is seeking to extend, at least through 2025, the child tax credit, which beginning in July – for a limited period – will provide $3,600 per child up to age 6 and $3,000 per child between the ages of 6 and 17.
Several congressional Democrats, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), considered it important to make permanent the program, which will have a significant impact on communities of color, including Latinas.
“I’m going to push for women workers to be able to meet the needs of their families…again, this disproportionate impact on women of color, because they are also proportionately the ones taking care of families,” she told us.
Experts, such as economist Andres Vinelli, PAC’s vice president for Economic Policy, have highlighted the benefits of child-specific payments as one of the best ways to directly attack poverty.
“It’s been shown that payments that go directly to families with children produce a very healthy effect on children’s health and food security,” he explained days before the American Rescue Plan was passed. “There are studies that estimate that such a payment, monthly, would cause child poverty to be cut in half, which is a huge amount.”
Vinelli also stressed that President Biden’s new economic plan is critical to shoring up the economy after the third stimulus check, even if a new payment is not distributed directly to families.
A group of representatives sent a letter to President Biden urging him to consider more funding per American.
“This crisis is far from over and families deserve the certainty that they can put food on the table and have a roof over their heads,” the letter says. “Families should not be at the mercy of ever-changing legislative deadlines and ad hoc solutions.”
In parallel, at least 20 senators, including Ron Wyden (Oregon), Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) and Bernie Sanders (Vermont), sent a similar missive to the White House.
“(Recurring) direct payments and automatic extensions of unemployment insurance tied to economic conditions should be approved,” the senators said.
The president’s new economic project focuses on education and training, according to a preview published by The New York Times, in addition to the child tax credit.
Earlier, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that the bill would also include a strategy to expand aid for access to health insurance, but due to the complexity of the plan, a separate proposal will be submitted.
The first phase of President Biden’s blueprint focuses on $2.25 billion in infrastructure investments that will help create good-paying jobs, which would benefit communities of color, including Latinos.