The child tax credit is set to end at the end of the month, and Congressional Democrats are worried about a potential disaster if payments are stopped in January.
Their hope of quickly passing the social and climate spending package is in danger of collapsing due to resistance from Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Senate Democrats must approve the legislation to clear the upper chamber.
Schumer wants to pass the legislation by Christmas. Manchin hasn't thrown his support behind it, which is disappointing for the Democrats.
Democrats are trying to keep the monthly checks flowing. I'm worried. The child tax credit is an important part of the expansion, according to Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado.
Families are spending federal cash on rent, groceries, and daycare, according to recent data. "We need to make sure that we don't cancel this at the beginning of the new year, that will be a disaster," Bennet said.
Senior House Democrats are feeling the need to act. The third-ranking Democrat told reporters that the House would not allow the tax credit to expire.
The current bill provides up to $300 a month for a child under the age of 5. Families can receive up to $3,000 a year for children between the ages of 6 and 17. The ability for most American families to receive the federal cash every month would not be affected by whether or not they file taxes.
Manchin doesn't seem to be in a rush to give his approval to the legislation. He is concerned that the package could cause inflation and contribute to rising prices for groceries and gas. At a Wall Street Journal event on Tuesday, he said that the threat of the unknown we're facing today is much bigger than the bill we're looking at.
He told reporters on Wednesday that the government had already approved $5.4 trillion in new federal spending since the beginning of the Pandemic.
35 million families will receive the last round of payments from the IRS on December 15. Congress must approve the legislation by year's end for the agency to distribute payments next month.
Chuck Marr, director of federal tax policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told Insider that if it is passed by the end of the year, the payments will go out. That's most likely.
