1,363 Payments Distributed in December in Illinois
Matteson, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Congresswoman Robin L. Kelly (IL-02) marked the first time in six months that families will not receive the expanded and improved monthly Child Tax Credit by calling for the passage of the Build Back Better Act. On December 15, 1,363 payments went out to hardworking families across Illinois. 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 children and families who would benefit most from a Child Tax Credit were left behind including 48% of children in Illinois’ Second Congressional District,” said Congresswoman Kelly. “Now, after six months of payments, the evidence is clear. The expanded and improved monthly Child Tax Credit works. We must continue the progress brought to Illinois families by President Biden and Congressional Democrats’ American Rescue Plan. We must pass the Build Back Better Act and extend the Child Tax Credit.”
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.
President Biden announced the American Rescue Plan in January 2021 to change the course of the pandemic, build a bridge towards economic recovery, and invest in racial justice. The American Rescue Plan will address the stark, intergenerational inequities that have worsened in the wake of COVID-19. Researchers at Columbia University estimate that these proposals will cut child poverty in half.
