Caretakers of 93% of children will get monthly benefits under Biden's stimulus plan

kids volunteering — Phynart Studio/Getty Images

More than 93% of kids would receive benefits as a result of a measure in Biden's stimulus package.
The child benefit would give parents up to $300 in monthly checks for a year.
Biden and Democrats have voiced support for making the measure permanent.
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More than 93% of children would get benefits as part of President Joe Biden's stimulus package, The New York Times reported.

Biden's $1.9 trillion package was approved by the Senate over the weekend. The policy is currently framed as an expansion of a tax credit that's already in place but it would now work as direct payment for families with kids.

Right now, it's only a one-year policy in the bill, but Biden and Democrats have expressed support for making it a permanent policy.

"The president is interested in exploring options for making the child tax credit permanent as part of the 'Build Back Better' agenda," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said last week. "He's been heartened to see bipartisan support for ideas like this, including from Republicans like Sen. Romney."

Right now, the children's tax credit is $2,000 for every child under 17. Parents can only claim it on their taxes, CNET reported.

The policy in the stimulus would give $3,600 to parents for children ages 5 and under and $3,000 to those with kids between 6 and 17 years old.

Instead of getting the whole amount on their taxes, parents can now receive monthly checks.

That would be $300 monthly checks for those under 5 and $250 for those older. Individuals making $75,000 or under and couples making up to $150,000 would get a full check.

The measure would allow parents to get monthly checks instead of the total amount at tax time. The Times reported 69 million kids would get benefits, or 93% of children, whereas right now only 25% of kids get a partial benefit with the poorest 10% getting nothing.

Some projections like those from the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University found that the monthly payments could cut child poverty by 45%. For Black children that rate would be cut by over 50%.

This expansion would cost over $100 billion for one year, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. If it were to be made permanent, it would cost over $1 trillion in 10 years.

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