Congresswoman Scanlon Highlights Impact of Child Tax on Pennsylvania Families

Press Release

Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) today marked the untimely end of the expanded and improved monthly Child Tax Credit (CTC) by calling upon the Senate to extend those payments with the passage of the Build Back Better Act. For the past six months, 1,306,000 payments per month have been authorized by the American Rescue Plan to hardworking families across Pennsylvania. According to Columbia University, these monthly payments are reducing food insecurity, and families overwhelmingly spent this money on food and other basic needs.

"Prior to the passage of the American Rescue Plan, too many families who have benefited from the expanded Child Tax Credit were struggling to meet their children's needs, including 26% of children in PA-05," said Rep. Scanlon. "Now, after six months of payments, the evidence is clear. The expanded and improved monthly Child Tax Credit works. These payments have provided a lifeline for the middle class -- the biggest middle-class tax cut we have seen in a generation -- and reduced child poverty and hunger by almost half. More than 76,000 families in my district received these monthly CTC payments, and they're worried about what will happen now that the program has ended. We cannot let the progress that Pennsylvania families made thanks to the American Rescue Plan end here."

As part of the American Rescue Plan, the Child Tax Credit increased from $2,000 to up to $3,600 per child. Eligible parents got half of the CTC in monthly advance payments from July to December 2021. The second half of the expanded CTC will be received by eligible families when they file their 2021 tax returns. To avoid delays, the IRS recommends filing early and preparing all necessary documents before tax season begins on January 24.

Over the long term, research has found that an extra $3,000 in a family's annual income when a child is younger than five leads to 19% higher future earnings, and a growing body of academic research finds that public investments in children yield significant long-term returns with economy-wide benefits, as healthier, more educated kids grow up to be more productive workers with higher earnings. This, in turn, also generates higher future revenues.

"We cannot go backward," added Rep. Scanlon. "The Senate must move quickly to pass the Build Back Better Act and extend the improved Child Tax Credit. America's children are counting on us."

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