By Claire Lampen

(Excerpt)

Responding to the Cut’s request for comment, Manchin’s communications director, Sam Runyon, said the senator “has made clear he supports the child tax credit and believes the money should be targeted to those who need it most.” Runyon did not address the drug comments specifically, so I cannot tell you what Manchin may have based them on. I can, however, point to a projection from the Center for Law and Social Policy: When Congress reconfigured the child tax credit in March, CLASP said the measure stood to halve child poverty in the U.S. Previously, eligible parents could claim up to $2,000 per child on their taxes, a system that left out an estimated 10 to 25 percent of children at greatest need because it was based on taxable income. As part of the American Rescue Plan, lawmakers overhauled the existing framework to pay out monthly claims of up to $250 per child ages 6 to 17 and up to $300 for children under the age of 6. CLASP predicted a 52 percent drop in poverty levels among Black children, a 45 percent reduction for Hispanic children, and a 61 percent decline for Indigenous children, benefits that could extend over generations if the change became permanent. Intelligencer posits that Manchin’s apparent about-face on the bill may be an invitation to further negotiations, but as it stands, the child tax credit looks set to expire at the end of the year.

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