2/4 Survey: Expanding the Child Tax Credit

On Wednesday, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives moved to expand the Child Tax Credit:

The bill increases the amount from $1,600 per child to $1,800 in 2023, $1,900 in 2024 and $2,000 in 2025. It would also adjust the limit in future years to account for inflation. When in full effect, it could lift at least half a million children out of poverty, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 

The legislation passed the House in a 357 to 70 vote, far surpassing the two-thirds majority it required. 188 Democrats joined 169 Republicans in voting to approve the bill, while 23 Democrats and 47 Republicans voted against it. The measure now heads to the Senate. Known as the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, the legislation would increase the Child Tax Credit aiming to provide relief to lower-income families. Though it's more modest than a pandemic-era enhancement of the credit, which greatly reduced child poverty and ended in 2021, Democrats have pushed to resurrect the assistance and generally see the move as a positive step.

Today's Survey: Should federal tax policy be used in this way, to reduce the tax burden on lower-income families, making more dollars available for basic necessities like food and housing?

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