{"id":1263149,"date":"2022-02-01T20:37:51","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T01:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1263149"},"modified":"2022-02-01T20:38:17","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T01:38:17","slug":"we-got-our-hopes-up-american-families-adjust-to-life-without-the-expanded-child-tax-credit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-got-our-hopes-up-american-families-adjust-to-life-without-the-expanded-child-tax-credit\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We Got Our Hopes Up\u2019: American Families Adjust To Life Without The Expanded Child Tax Credit"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwe-got-our-hopes-up-american-families-adjust-to-life-without-the-expanded-child-tax-credit%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1263149&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><ul>\n<li><strong>Democrats had throughout much of 2021 touted the expanded child tax credit as one of their signature policy achievements, but it has now lapsed amid party infighting, casting uncertainty over whether it will ever get restored.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The credit, expanded in March as part of the American Rescue Plan, found support in both liberal and conservative circles, and was credited in its first few months with eliminating childhood poverty in the U.S. by almost 50%.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Now, however, despite the economic benefits the credit delivered to low and middle-income American families, once-recipients are grappling with the fact that the temporary budget cuts they made may become permanent, risking both short-term consequences and long-term financial stability.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cWe already haven\u2019t been using things that we don\u2019t need,\u201d said Johnny Walls, a technician in West Virginia. \u201cBut things have already been cut, and it\u2019s kind of hard to cut from there.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Throughout 2021, Democrats touted the expanded child tax credit as one of their signature and most effective policy achievements.<\/p>\n<p>The credit, expanded in March as part of the American Rescue Plan, found support in <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/08\/17\/americans-support-child-tax-credits-republicans-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">both liberal and conservative circles<\/a>, and was credited in its first few months with eliminating childhood poverty in the U.S. by almost 50%. Its success made it a foundational part of President Joe Biden\u2019s $1.75 trillion domestic spending package, which Democrats embarked on advancing in summer 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Now, however, despite the economic benefits the credit delivered to low and middle-income American families, the package is all but dead due to its inability to secure unanimous Democratic support in the Senate. And with the credit having lapsed in December in hopes that it would have been extended, families are grappling with the fact that the temporary budget cuts they made, and the consequences that resulted, may become permanent.<\/p>\n<p>For Brian and Megan Curtis, a couple raising two young kids amid the challenges imposed by the pandemic, the expanded child tax credit\u2019s lapse did not just mean that they would be forced to work greater hours to make ends meet.<\/p>\n<p>The credit\u2019s lapse, the couple told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview, touched nearly every facet of their lives, forcing them to cut back on spending, pull back from the business they are trying to launch and wrestle with the greater uncertainty that comes from the disappearance of hundreds of dollars per month that they had received throughout much of 2021.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m going to the grocery store a lot less, and I\u2019m trying to figure out how to make what we have stretch a little bit further,\u201d Megan said, her voice occasionally competing with her kids in the background. \u201cI\u2019ve stopped buying things that were not frivolous purchases anyway, just putting off buying things that we normally would be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Megan, a hospice nurse, mentioned how they had stopped buying kitty litter and how both her kids were still using broken backpacks to carry their books around school. But the <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/01\/04\/in-west-virginia-child-tax-credits-lapse-cuts-deep\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">credit\u2019s disappearance<\/a> did much more than affect the daily lives of their kids and their cats; it altered how much they worked, how much time they spent with their kids and how they had planned a more stable future.<\/p>\n<p>The couple started a telehealth business at the onset of the pandemic, and said how the credit had allowed them to devote more resources towards growing it without having to worry about enough food, their mortgage and the challenges that come from raising young kids. The business would have also allowed Megan, who is recovering from a heart condition and remains immunocompromised, to have a schedule that allowed her to spend more time at home, where her risk of catching the coronavirus is lower.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne thing that Megan and I had talked about was the goal of not having her work as quickly as possible moving forward once the business started up,\u201d Brian said. \u201cBut without that buffer coming in \u2026 we can\u2019t predict the future and don\u2019t know when she\u2019ll be able to do that. We\u2019ve had to put off her being able to focus more on her health and family as she continues to recover.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7359217\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7359217\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Advocates urged Congress to pass the Build Back Better Act before it ultimately collapsed due to lack of support. (Leigh Vogel\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Dead, Or Mostly Dead?<\/h3>\n<p>Megan and Brian are far from alone; studies have shown that across the country families, especially those earning relatively little, had moved toward self-employment after receiving the credit, capitalizing on the extra money to improve their overall socioeconomic status. Studies also showed the payments <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/09\/23\/94-parents-child-tax-credit-payments-allow-more-work\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">allowed parents to work even more<\/a>, even though they were not tied to any work requirement, benefiting stay-at-home parents, grandparents raising grandchildren and other Americans not working traditional 9-5 jobs. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/12\/07\/child-tax-credit-driving-americans-toward-entrepreneurship-little-effect-on-workforce\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Child Tax Credit Is Driving Americans Toward Entrepreneurship, Has Little Effect On Workforce)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The positives have led many Democrats in the Senate to continue to push for the credit\u2019s continuation, even as negotiations remain in infant stages. Five senators on Wednesday <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/01\/26\/signature-domestic-policy-achievement-senate-dems-urge-biden-expanded-child-tax-credit-permanent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote to the White House directly<\/a>, insisting that any resurrection of Build Back Better permanently extend the credits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe expanded CTC represents the biggest investment in American families and children in a generation,\u201d Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Ron Wyden of Oregon wrote, saying it enabled families \u201cto afford rent, put food on the table, and pay for child care so their parents and caregivers could stay in the workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Senate Democrats are powerless to adopt any further extension without the support of West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/12\/19\/joe-manchin-no-vote-joe-biden-build-back-better-spending-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">balked<\/a> at the overall package\u2019s price tag amid surging inflation and supply chain shortages before explicitly coming out against it.<\/p>\n<p>Manchin\u2019s position only further inflamed tensions between him and the White House, with the latter essentially accusing him of lying during the negotiating process. And while tensions have now simmered, actual progress on the legislation remains nonexistent as Democrats prioritize passing a China competitiveness bill and keeping the government open at the onset of what will be a high-stakes election year. <strong class=\"\"><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/12\/20\/joe-manchin-fires-back-after-gloves-off-statement-opposition-bidens-spending-package\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: \u2018They Know The Real Reason\u2019: Manchin Fires Back At The White House After Gloves-Off Statement Criticizes His Opposition To BBB)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The West Virginia senator, however, has said that he is open to starting negotiations anew, but has continued to insist that the credit, if brought back, be targeted towards fewer Americans and that it come with a work requirement, putting him again at odds with the rest of his caucus.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans, meanwhile, remain opposed to the expanded child tax credit as Democrats envision it, arguing that it is too expensive and that <a href=\"https:\/\/gop-waysandmeans.house.gov\/debunking-dems-myths-about-their-child-tax-credit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">it discourages work<\/a>, all but guaranteeing that its restoration as it was before would have to be done through a reconciliation bill that can pass with just a simple majority. And while some Republicans, like Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, have even offered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.romney.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/family-security-act_one-pager.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their own plans<\/a> in an effort to restore the credit, it remains unclear whether they would garner the Democratic support necessary to pass, much less support from others in the GOP.<\/p>\n<p>Manchin\u2019s hesitancy \u2014 and Republicans\u2019 unanimous opposition to the credit as Democrats envision it \u2014 means that any renewal could be months away, if talk ever begins again at all.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s two really big components that I feel strongly about that I\u2019m not sure I can get in the package,\u201d Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/speeches-remarks\/2022\/01\/19\/remarks-by-president-biden-in-press-conference-6\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">told<\/a> reporters in January. \u201cOne is the child care tax credit and the other is help for cost of community colleges.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>A Surprising, Yet Familiar Feeling<\/h3>\n<p>For many, the added pinch could not have come at a less ideal time. Many low and middle-income Americans had already struggled to make ends meet amid the pandemic and <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/01\/12\/inflation-bureau-labor-statistics-department-jerome-powell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">decades-high inflation<\/a> that followed, and are now faced with even less disposable income as the holiday season set in and utility bills rose amid winter.<\/p>\n<p>For Johnny Walls, a technician in West Virginia, the credit\u2019s lapse was a reminder of how uncertain the coming months would be.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were lucky,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cWe got assistance with our electric bill this month. And now we\u2019re kind of hoping as we head into spring we can reduce some bills.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut we already haven\u2019t been using things that we don\u2019t need,\u201d he added. \u201cThings have already been cut, and it\u2019s kind of hard to cut from there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Walls, like the Curtis\u2019, had put some of the child tax credit towards growing his own business. And while he said that the small graphic design business had grown throughout 2021, he now found himself torn over whether to cut back so he could earn more in the short term.<\/p>\n<p>He is not an outlier, especially in West Virginia, a state that was already struggling with <a href=\"https:\/\/dhhr.wv.gov\/News\/2021\/Pages\/West-Virginia-Experiences-Increase-in-Overdose-Deaths;-Health-Officials-Emphasize-Resources.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">opioid use<\/a> and a declining coal industry before the pandemic took hold. Walls described how families\u2019 uncertainty over making ends meet had only grown, and how the sense of hope that a deal extending the credit had all but been extinguished.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think a lot of people were really hoping that when January 15 rolled around that they money would somehow be there,\u201d Walls said. \u201cWe got our hopes up. People thought, \u2018oh, maybe there will be two in February.\u2019 Now there\u2019s probably not going to be one in March or April or May.\u201d&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/01\/04\/in-west-virginia-child-tax-credits-lapse-cuts-deep\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: In West Virginia, The Enhanced Child Tax Credit\u2019s Lapse Cuts Deep)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7359209\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7359209\" class=\"wp-image-7359209 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1021415396-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"An American flag hangs in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The state, one of the poorest in the nation, had disproportionately benefited from the expanded credit. (Spencer Platt\/Getty Images)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1021415396-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/GettyImages-1021415396-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/GettyImages-1021415396-620x413.jpg 620w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/GettyImages-1021415396-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/GettyImages-1021415396-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/GettyImages-1021415396-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7359209\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An American flag hangs in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The state, one of the poorest in the nation, had disproportionately benefited from the expanded credit. (Spencer Platt\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Blame To Go Around<\/h3>\n<p>For many receiving the credit, its lapse was not just the latest instance of abandonment from a federal government that had already seemed to have left working Americans behind, but a clear indication that aid that countless politicians had promised was likely not coming.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cManchin\u2019s response was especially tone deaf to me,\u201d Russell Toll, a veteran who used the credit to launch a non-profit to help treat fellow soldiers with PTSD, said in an interview. \u201cLetting it lapse because some Americans don\u2019t need it as desperately as others is tantamount to refusing to throw life preservers to those treading water because some are stronger swimmers than others.\u201d <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/08\/17\/americans-support-child-tax-credits-republicans-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Conservative Support For A Pro-Family Tax Credit Finds Little Love Among Congressional Republicans)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Toll said he was saddened at Congress\u2019 inability to come together and extend a program that had shown to be so effective in helping millions of Americans, and that many of his fellow veterans \u2013 also recipients of the credit \u2013 were dismayed as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have fellow vets I served with calling me and saying they\u2019re right on the edge of giving up and it\u2019s exhausting convincing them to hang on,\u201d Toll said, describing how the credit\u2019s lapse, coupled with the renewed pandemic fears and restrictive policies, including the potential shuttering of his kids\u2019 school, had proven demoralizing for many in his community.<\/p>\n<p>Toll\u2019s sentiment extended to the Curtis\u2019 as well, who blamed Congress for \u201ctrying their hardest not to work together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt seems like lawmakers focus on short-term incentives and rewards for their next cycle instead of taking a longer view of what\u2019s best for our politics, what\u2019s best for our communities and what\u2019s best for our families,\u201d Brian Curtis said. \u201cIt\u2019s shocking because when you talk about something like basic income so people can meet their needs, it really seems like that ought to be the bullseye for working. But apparently it\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats had throughout much of 2021 touted the expanded child tax credit as one of their signature policy achievements, but it has now lapsed amid party infighting, casting uncertainty over &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1263149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1263149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1263149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1263149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1263149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1263149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1263149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}