Round one of child tax credit payments slashed hunger rates, U.S. data shows
The monthly payments of up to $300 for each kid under five and up to $250 for each kid under 18 are the result of one of the most sweeping provisions in the American Rescue Plan.
By HELENA BOTTEMILLER EVICH
08/12/2021 02:54 PM EDT
The percentage of American families with kids who report not having enough to eat fell dramatically after the first child tax credit payments were distributed last month, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The government’s finding shows that the monthly payments are having a major and immediate impact on millions of households, potentially bolstering President Joe Biden’s push to extend the tax credit past the end of this year, when it is set to expire.
“It is great news that the estimated rate of hunger among those with children is at a pandemic low,” said Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, director of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University, who has been closely tracking food hardship rates throughout the pandemic.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/12/child-tax-credit-hunger-rates-504258
