SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Cara Baldari and Sarah Orrin-Vipond join a rally in front of the U.S. Capitol December 13, 2021 in Washington, D.C. to urge passage of the Build Back Better Act to extend the expanded Child Tax Credit. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Three weeks after Sen. Joe Manchin's opposition to the expanded Child Tax Credit ended his Democratic Party's hopes of passing the Build Back Better Act before the end of 2021, a new poll out Wednesday shows a majority of voters still support the measure that has lifted millions out of poverty.
A survey by Fighting Chance for Families, a project of progressive think tanks Groundwork Collaborative and Data for Progress, showed Thursday that 57% of all voters--and 78% of Democrats--support expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC).
"Extending the child tax credit would really help Americans during a pandemic and Omicron surge. Maybe Manchin can tour his own state and see the economic devastation."
Just over half of independent voters support the expanded CTC, which from July to December 2021 provided monthly payments of up to $300 per child for 35 million families, and about one-third of Republicans back the program.
The widespread support for the CTC, suggested Fighting Chance for Families, is due to the fact that millions of children have experienced concrete benefits from what one advocate called "the most transformational investment in children and families in the history of the United States."
"The expanded Child Tax Credit provided economic relief to some 35 million families and gave working parents the security needed to remain in the workforce and keep local economies afloat," said McKenzie Wilson, spokeswoman for the organization. "The Senate must listen to voters and work swiftly to extend the now-expired expanded Child Tax Credit, especially at a time when coronavirus cases and the price of essential goods are at record highs."
Manchin, the corporate Democrat who represents West Virginia, announced in mid-December that he would not support the one-year expansion of the CTC included in the Build Back Better Act, effectively shutting down negotiations over President Joe Biden's signature economic package.
After talks over Build Back Better fell apart, the Democrats had until December 28 to pass standalone legislation extending the CTC or attach the provisions to an unrelated bill to prevent families from facing a gap in payments in January.
Since the party failed to meet that deadline, tens of millions of families received their last payment on December 15.
Related Content
The CTC has been credited with helping families across the country afford rent and mortgage payments, school supplies, utilities and other essentials. While Manchin reportedly told colleagues he believed families would use the money to buy drugs, the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis showed that the most common use for the monthly payments was to buy food, with more than half of the senator's own constituents reporting they mainly used the CTC to purchases groceries.
"Extending the child tax credit would really help Americans during a pandemic and Omicron surge," said New York Times contributor Wajahat Ali this week. "Maybe Manchin can tour his own state and see the economic devastation."
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Three weeks after Sen. Joe Manchin's opposition to the expanded Child Tax Credit ended his Democratic Party's hopes of passing the Build Back Better Act before the end of 2021, a new poll out Wednesday shows a majority of voters still support the measure that has lifted millions out of poverty.
A survey by Fighting Chance for Families, a project of progressive think tanks Groundwork Collaborative and Data for Progress, showed Thursday that 57% of all voters--and 78% of Democrats--support expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC).
"Extending the child tax credit would really help Americans during a pandemic and Omicron surge. Maybe Manchin can tour his own state and see the economic devastation."
Just over half of independent voters support the expanded CTC, which from July to December 2021 provided monthly payments of up to $300 per child for 35 million families, and about one-third of Republicans back the program.
The widespread support for the CTC, suggested Fighting Chance for Families, is due to the fact that millions of children have experienced concrete benefits from what one advocate called "the most transformational investment in children and families in the history of the United States."
"The expanded Child Tax Credit provided economic relief to some 35 million families and gave working parents the security needed to remain in the workforce and keep local economies afloat," said McKenzie Wilson, spokeswoman for the organization. "The Senate must listen to voters and work swiftly to extend the now-expired expanded Child Tax Credit, especially at a time when coronavirus cases and the price of essential goods are at record highs."
Manchin, the corporate Democrat who represents West Virginia, announced in mid-December that he would not support the one-year expansion of the CTC included in the Build Back Better Act, effectively shutting down negotiations over President Joe Biden's signature economic package.
After talks over Build Back Better fell apart, the Democrats had until December 28 to pass standalone legislation extending the CTC or attach the provisions to an unrelated bill to prevent families from facing a gap in payments in January.
Since the party failed to meet that deadline, tens of millions of families received their last payment on December 15.
Related Content
The CTC has been credited with helping families across the country afford rent and mortgage payments, school supplies, utilities and other essentials. While Manchin reportedly told colleagues he believed families would use the money to buy drugs, the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis showed that the most common use for the monthly payments was to buy food, with more than half of the senator's own constituents reporting they mainly used the CTC to purchases groceries.
"Extending the child tax credit would really help Americans during a pandemic and Omicron surge," said New York Times contributor Wajahat Ali this week. "Maybe Manchin can tour his own state and see the economic devastation."
Three weeks after Sen. Joe Manchin's opposition to the expanded Child Tax Credit ended his Democratic Party's hopes of passing the Build Back Better Act before the end of 2021, a new poll out Wednesday shows a majority of voters still support the measure that has lifted millions out of poverty.
A survey by Fighting Chance for Families, a project of progressive think tanks Groundwork Collaborative and Data for Progress, showed Thursday that 57% of all voters--and 78% of Democrats--support expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC).
"Extending the child tax credit would really help Americans during a pandemic and Omicron surge. Maybe Manchin can tour his own state and see the economic devastation."
Just over half of independent voters support the expanded CTC, which from July to December 2021 provided monthly payments of up to $300 per child for 35 million families, and about one-third of Republicans back the program.
The widespread support for the CTC, suggested Fighting Chance for Families, is due to the fact that millions of children have experienced concrete benefits from what one advocate called "the most transformational investment in children and families in the history of the United States."
"The expanded Child Tax Credit provided economic relief to some 35 million families and gave working parents the security needed to remain in the workforce and keep local economies afloat," said McKenzie Wilson, spokeswoman for the organization. "The Senate must listen to voters and work swiftly to extend the now-expired expanded Child Tax Credit, especially at a time when coronavirus cases and the price of essential goods are at record highs."
Manchin, the corporate Democrat who represents West Virginia, announced in mid-December that he would not support the one-year expansion of the CTC included in the Build Back Better Act, effectively shutting down negotiations over President Joe Biden's signature economic package.
After talks over Build Back Better fell apart, the Democrats had until December 28 to pass standalone legislation extending the CTC or attach the provisions to an unrelated bill to prevent families from facing a gap in payments in January.
Since the party failed to meet that deadline, tens of millions of families received their last payment on December 15.
Related Content
The CTC has been credited with helping families across the country afford rent and mortgage payments, school supplies, utilities and other essentials. While Manchin reportedly told colleagues he believed families would use the money to buy drugs, the Social Policy Institute at Washington University in St. Louis showed that the most common use for the monthly payments was to buy food, with more than half of the senator's own constituents reporting they mainly used the CTC to purchases groceries.
"Extending the child tax credit would really help Americans during a pandemic and Omicron surge," said New York Times contributor Wajahat Ali this week. "Maybe Manchin can tour his own state and see the economic devastation."