The enhanced Child Tax Credit stimulus check was a boon as the third stimulus check money dried up for most families by the middle of 2021, especially citizens who had lost their jobs following the pandemic. While the first half of the CTC payments were paid smoothly through 6 equal installments, the second half has been held up by Republican opposition.
With no chance of any addition to the enhanced payment, the CTC stimulus check will regress to pre-pandemic levels. There is also the possibility of changes to the eligibility structure.
The CTC is over a quarter of a century old, having been enacted as a measure of the Taxpayer Relief Act. There have been several changes to the federal credit in the intervening period. The 2021 changes were the most far-reaching and were linked to the pandemic and its economic downturn.
But sustained opposition from the Republicans to President Biden’s Build Back Better plan scuttled the move. The president had to face betrayal from within the party, from Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. This stymied any hope of the critical 50th vote that would have passed the law in Congress.
The 2022 CTC Stimulus Check Will Revert To The Pre-Pandemic Structure
Thus a strong anti-poverty stimulus check aimed at the most vulnerable section of society, its children, was allowed to die a quiet death.
Families could still get the CTC stimulus check at the pre-pandemic rate of $2,000 a year till 2025. Though there will also be severe restrictions for the beneficiaries as new criteria are put in place.
Before the CTC was expanded following the pandemic under the Rescue Plan, a revision in 2017 increased the credit amount to $2,000 for each child. This is the amount that parents can expect to claim instead of the $3,000 to $3,600 that they were assured in 2021 by President Biden.
Democrat Congressmen are still insisting on an extension and have discussed with Mitt Romney an alternative of $350 each month.
