AUGUST 2021 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 17
CHILD TAX CREDIT HELP IS ON THE WAY
BY CHARLES SCHUMER
U.S. Senate Majority Leader
New York’s families have had a tough
year. Kids have missed sports, school,
and birthday parties. Parents have
faced difficult choices about childcare.
Families have struggled to cover the
costs of groceries and rent.
The economic downturn and childcare
crisis caused by Covid-19 shone
a light on one of the most unacceptable
truths about our society. The United
States is the wealthiest nation in the
history of humankind and yet 10
million of our nation’s children live
in poverty.
The painful reality of child poverty
has always outraged me. So when Senate
Democrats moved forward with
the American Rescue Plan earlier this
year, I fought tirelessly to include a
historic expansion of the Child Tax
Credit to send help to America’s families.
Securing this expansion is one of
the accomplishments I am proudest of
as a senator.
Under this law, a vast majority of
parents will begin receiving $300
every month per child younger than
6 years old and $250 every month for
each child aged 6-17. That adds up to
$3,600 for every child under six, and
$3,000 for every child 6 to 17.
The first payments began on July
15. Millions of New York families
are seeing extra money hit their
bank accounts, the first in a series of
monthly payments that will continue
through the end of this year.
Single parents with incomes up to
$112,500 — and married couples with
incomes up to $150,000 — are all eligible
for the full benefit.
Here is what you need to do in order
to receive your payments. If you have
already filed your taxes with the IRS
in either of the past two years or both,
you don’t have to lift a finger. You will
automatically receive your monthly
check if you qualify.
If you didn’t file taxes in either 2020
or 2019, there is a good chance you
still qualify for the child tax credit.
Go online and register at irs.gov/
childtaxcredit. Spread the word to
your friends, family, and neighbors.
If you have any questions, please
reach out to my office. We are ready
to help.
All told, this policy is expected to lift
more than 4 million children out of
poverty, cutting the childhood poverty
rate almost in half. It is the single
largest effort to cut child poverty in
the last half century.
In other words, it’s a really big deal.
I know families who’ve told me they’re
going to spend the little extra cash on
fixing their car, on rent that they’ve
fallen behind on, and on basic medicine
for their kids.
This is about giving American families
the extra lift they need to recover
from the Covid pandemic. It will be a
boon for middle-class New Yorkers
and families across the country who
still need help making ends meet.
I am happy to say help is on the way
for the vast majority of New York’s
parents.
POINT OF VIEW
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