The Child Tax Credit isn鈥檛 a subject you鈥檇 expect to receive much attention in the middle of a heated presidential campaign.

Somewhat technocratic in nature, invisible to a large share of the electorate, the benefit was established in 1997 to provide relief to parents while their kids were young. Its reach is impressive, granting to roughly 40 million American households, but it鈥檚 hardly the kind of policy that grows in prominence in the months before Election Day.

If that鈥檚 true, however, no one told Washington.

Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have declared their intentions to expand the credit if elected. Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance has openly mused about lifting its value , a commitment that would cost trillions over the next decade. And the U.S. House of Representatives a much more modest extension on a bipartisan basis in January, only to see its progress halted by Republicans in the Senate. 

At the heart of the issue are debates reaching back to the credit鈥檚 origins about who should be its primary beneficiaries: middle-class households or those with little or no income. 

Progressives have long sought to use the CTC as a weapon against inequality; their efforts culminated in 2021 with a temporary expansion that massively cut child poverty for a year, then expired to the disappointment of activists. But conservatives, both in , have feared that increasing the credit鈥檚 size and decoupling it from work requirements could transform it into a cash welfare program of the kind nearly 30 years ago. 

Both parties鈥� long-standing positions are headed toward a harsh deadline, however. Next year, a host of provisions from Trump鈥檚 signature 2017 tax cut will expire, among them a measure that boosted the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to its present $2,000. Already weakened by inflation, the benefit would be cut in half if nothing is done. With 2025 coming into ever-sharper focus, Republicans and Democrats have both put forward ideas to stabilize the CTC 鈥� the only question is whether either party will hold enough power to enact its vision.

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat advocating for a more powerful CTC, said in a statement to 蜜桃影视 that he was glad to hear of Harris鈥檚 recent proposal .

鈥淔or six shining months in 2021, we finally treated children in poverty like they were our children, not someone else鈥檚,鈥� Bennett said. 鈥淚 think that should be our model going into 2025.鈥�

But Robert Greenstein, president emeritus of the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and a veteran of past poverty debates, said he believed that the most probable outcome of this year鈥檚 elections would be a divided federal government, likely necessitating a bipartisan consensus on the credit鈥檚 future. 

The Senate鈥檚 to act on legislation already passed in the House suggested that any move to alter or expand it would have to be tied to other tax cuts favored by the GOP, he added.

鈥淭hey didn’t want to have this negotiated on its own,鈥� Greenstein said. 鈥淭hey want it as part of the negotiations for the extension of the 2017 tax bill, which will occur next year.”

A debate on entitlement

From relatively small beginnings, the Child Tax Credit has grown significantly more generous over time. It was worth just $400 per child in 1997, increasing to $500 the next year. That number leapt to $1,000 per child in the 2001 Bush tax cuts, then to $2,000 in 2017鈥檚 Trump-led law. 

The CTC has simultaneously become accessible to many more people. Initially conceived as a 鈥渘on-refundable鈥� credit (i.e., one that could only be claimed by people who paid a certain amount of federal taxes) it later became 鈥減artially refundable,鈥� such that lower-earning families could collect a portion of it. After 2021, they could receive a credit equal to 15 percent of their earnings over $10,000, a threshold that was lowered successively to $3,000, and finally to $2,500 in 2017. 

Although many of those changes occurred under Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Trump, conservatives remained leery of backing their way into a new, welfare-like 鈥渃hild allowance.鈥�

鈥淔or most of the ’90s and 2000s, you had Democrats who preferred a fully refundable tax credit where what you got didn’t depend on having taxable income,鈥� said Scott Winship, a researcher on family policy for the conservative American Enterprise Institute. 鈥淩epublicans were more focused on giving middle-class families a tax cut and having an earnings requirement.鈥� 

But after their victory in the 2020 elections, Democrats acted almost immediately to transform the CTC into ,supercharging its annual value to $3,600 for children under six and $3,000 for those aged six to 17 and allowing the poorest households to receive its full amount.

The expansion only ran through the end of the year, but many within the Democratic Party have for restoring it, pointing to a national child poverty rate from 9.7 percent in 2020 to 5.2 percent in 2021. While only a few years have passed since the policy was enacted, indicates that the jumbo-sized CTC allowed poor families to spend more in ways that are likely helpful to child development. Its effects were especially large in high-poverty states in the Midwest and Sun Belt, found. 

Yet some of the big-ticket bids to transform the program into a much larger entitlement strike some observers as unworkable. In a recent interview, Vance said he would favor a $5,000 credit per child, which the nonprofit estimated as much as $300 billion annually. Greenstein dismissed the notion as 鈥渨ildly expensive.鈥� 鈥� particularly given that the Ohio senator specified that all American families, including both the poor and the ultra-rich, should be considered eligible recipients.

“Somehow I find it hard to imagine that we’ll have a tax bill next year with a net cost of $3 or $4 trillion over 10 years,鈥� he said. 鈥淪omewhere along the line, fiscal concerns will limit the magnitude.鈥� 

A 鈥榥o-brainer鈥�?

Any further developments on the Child Tax Credit will hinge on the outcome of the upcoming elections.

Trump his running mate鈥檚 proposal, noting that it was during his administration that the CTC grew to its current size. Meanwhile, in her first major address on policy, Harris counter-offered of her own, with parents of newborns receiving $6,000. 

Notably, a bipartisan bill to expand the credit already made it through the House of Representatives this year, . Co-sponsored by the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the legislation would significantly lower the income threshold to receive the CTC鈥檚 full value, above the poverty line. 

Despite its towering margin in the House, as being far less effective than the 2021 expansion by Democratic Rep. Rose DeLauro, a longtime advocate of making the credit more generous. Winship and his colleagues at AEI, on the other hand, argued that the expansion could disincentivize low-income parents from , or even .

Winship said he was 鈥渁 little nervous鈥� that weakening employment requirements could hurt families鈥� chances of escaping poverty 鈥� in the same way, he argued, as the less conditional cash welfare programs of the 1970s and 鈥�80s did.

鈥淭hose programs have work disincentives for the parents, but they also have savings disincentives, marriage disincentives, disincentives for parents against investing in their skills,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hose are the sorts of behaviors that promote upward mobility, and we worry that you’re not actually doing kids a favor in the long run by giving their parents cash without conditions.”

But Keri Rodrigues, the head of the , said the Republicans failed American children when they blocked the deal from passage in the Senate. Rodrigues of her organization, which advocates for families and schools, to gather support for the compromise legislation. They saw some success 鈥� three Republicans voted in favor, including conservative Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley 鈥� but returned home discouraged in the face of a GOP-led filibuster.

Rodrigues called the CTC expansion a 鈥渘o-brainer,鈥� adding that families already squeezed by inflation couldn鈥檛 afford to see the benefit fade as well.

“It transcends geography, demographics, political party,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is something everyone agrees needs to happen.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the affiliation of Keri Rodrigues.

President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act Tuesday at the White House 鈥� a $740 billion package that took nearly a year to get through Congress.聽

While it lowers health care costs, includes new tax measures and offers clean energy incentives, it left out many of the signature priorities in Biden鈥檚 original Build Back Better plan, such as universal pre-K, lowering child care costs and extending a pandemic-era child tax credit.

Early-childhood education advocates in recent weeks have harshly criticized Congress for leaving programs for young children out of the bill.

鈥淚t is a complete shame that the Senate鈥檚 Inflation Reduction Act does not include inflation-fighting funding for child care,鈥� Michelle Kang, CEO of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, said in a statement last month.

A year ago, Miriam Calder贸n was leading the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 work in early-childhood, a time when $400 billion in new federal funding for programs serving young children still seemed within reach.

Now she鈥檚 working on the outside, hoping Congress passes a bill with a small fraction of that amount.

While the Senate once again inches closer to voting on what was originally President Joe Biden鈥檚 Build Back Better plan, the recent compromise won鈥檛 include the $390 billion for child care and preschool and $190 billion for a child tax credit that the last November. Biden campaigned on adding four more years to public education 鈥� two in preschool and two for free community college. So far, he鈥檚 had to back off both promises. 

鈥淭here鈥檚 no sugar-coating it 鈥� it feels like a gut punch,鈥� said Calder贸n, now chief policy officer at Zero to Three, an advocacy organization. 鈥淲e will not have anything more equitable for children, birth to 5, without greater federal investment.鈥�

House Democrats passed the $2 trillion package last November with the expectation that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York would secure enough votes to get it to President Joe Biden鈥檚 desk. But fiscally conservative Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, whose vote is necessary in the 50-50 divided Senate, has only agreed to a smaller to lower health care costs, address inflation and reduce carbon emissions. For now, Biden鈥檚 pledge to pay for two years of free preschool and shrink families鈥� child care costs is out of the conversation.

For many in the early-childhood field, the omission is a rejection by Democrats at a time when programs are still trying from staff shortages and sharp declines in enrollment wrought by the pandemic.

鈥淲hen it comes to making commitments in the federal budget towards evidence-based early childhood policies, we have fallen short as a nation,鈥� Rasheed Malik, senior director of early childhood policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, said last month at a House budget committee hearing on early-childhood funding. 

Republican members at the hearing panned Biden鈥檚 original proposal, saying it doesn鈥檛 prioritize 鈥渘uclear families鈥� and includes large tax increases. Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri dismissed it as 鈥渂uild back broke.鈥�

But even a from Sens. Patty Murray of Washington and Tim Kaine of Virginia 鈥� with $18 billion for preschool and $72 billion for child care 鈥� would have been 鈥渢he largest federal investment in pre-K ever,鈥� said Steven Barnett, senior co-director of the National Institute for Early Education Research. Total current state spending on pre-K is less than $10 billion, he added.

Julie Kashen, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank, said there鈥檚 still a slim chance Manchin, who weeks ago had ruled out an agreement on climate policy, would have another change of heart. During the vote, senators will also be able to offer amendments.

鈥淲e started out at $400 billion and we are far from there,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut until the ink is dry, we keep seeing things change. They could change again.鈥�

For now, states and advocates are moving ahead on their own without a huge federal windfall.

鈥淲e know what it looks like when [the funding] doesn鈥檛 come through. That is our history,鈥� said Kashen, who has worked on federal child care and family support policy for more than two decades. 

In New Mexico, residents will vote this November on a that would guarantee children a right to an education 鈥� not just K-12 students, but those 5 and under as well. If the measure passes, the state would put $125 million a year toward early-childhood education, generated from fees on public lands.

In the meantime, officials are state and federal relief funds to make child care free for every family for the next year. 

New Jersey has also to upgrade preschool facilities, expand access to child care and pre-K, and support home-visiting programs, which often target low-income mothers with newborns and toddlers. Barnett said the state is wise to put relief funds primarily toward construction projects, 鈥渨hich will pay off for the next 30 years or more鈥� instead of 鈥済iving one-time bonuses and other things that are transitory.鈥� 

Some states are also using relief funds for early-childhood staff raises, to support teacher mental health and pay for training, according to a National Association of State Boards of Education issued Tuesday. 

Romney鈥檚 family plan

While Manchin has said he supports , he argued against raising taxes to pay for Biden鈥檚 proposals during a period of high inflation. And he vowed only to support the child tax credit, which provided up to $300 per month for families with young children, if it included a work requirement for parents. show the direct payments helped families afford rent, groceries and school supplies last year. 

Conservatives are now backing a similar proposal from Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, His would provide most families with $350 per month for children from birth to age 5 and $250 for school-age children. 

Michael Petrilli, president of the right-leaning Thomas B. Fordham Institute, said educators should support the bill, saying it 鈥渉as the potential to help millions of kids 鈥� especially poor and working-class children 鈥� come to school ready to learn.鈥�

Sen. Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat who has pushed to make the Biden child tax credit permanent, tweeted that he Romney鈥檚 work on the issue. But Bennet鈥檚 staff said he splits with the Republican on details. Romney鈥檚 plan would require families to earn $10,000 in the previous year to qualify for the credit and cut for low-income families to pay for the credit.

Bennet, along with other Senate Democrats, such as Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Cory Booker of New Jersey, hope they can squeeze into an end-of-the-year tax package.

Meanwhile,some Democrats are still pushing to include last-minute funding for young children in the final deal between Manchin and Schumer 鈥� now called the Inflation Reduction Act 鈥� before the Senate is expected to break for recess next week. 

鈥淭he simple reality is that if we don鈥檛 act now, the child care crisis will only get worse,鈥� Murray said in a statement Thursday. 鈥淎s we fight inflation, we must help parents find and afford the child care they need so they can get back to work, and help child care providers stay in business.鈥�

In his , Biden promised to 鈥渒eep fighting鈥� for lower preschool and child care costs.

鈥淭his bill is far from perfect. It鈥檚 a compromise,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 often how progress is made: by compromises.鈥�

The proposed rule would allow 鈥渇ederal reviewers to ignore state and local decisions to authorize new public charter schools,鈥� Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Diane Feinstein of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey wrote in a to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. 

Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Richard Burr of North Carolina also signed the letter. The proposed requirements, they wrote, 鈥渨ould make it difficult, if not impossible, for new public charter schools start-ups, and for high-performing public charter schools seeking to replicate or expand, to access [Charter Schools Program] funding.鈥�

The $440 million competitive grant program, now almost 30 years old, supports schools鈥� start-up costs, from facility needs to staffing. Department officials say the revisions, which would require potential grantees to demonstrate 鈥渟ufficient demand,鈥� would encourage more racially balanced schools that don鈥檛 compete with traditional districts losing enrollment. Provisions would also require charters to be transparent about any contracts they have with for-profit organizations, which would increase accountability. But charter advocates argue the plan would make it harder for applicants to win approval, even if there鈥檚 demand from families.聽

After backlash from the field and six in the Senate, the department last month extended the comment period on the rule for five days. Over 26,000 , both for and against the plan, have been submitted. 

Ranking Republicans on the House and Senate education committees have also threatened to repeal the rule if the administration doesn鈥檛 change it. They鈥檝e asked the department to confirm by May 12 that it will submit the final rule to Congress for review.

In the recent letter, the senators said the proposal would 鈥渁dd significant burdens and time to an already complex application process, with little time for technical assistance, particularly for the upcoming 2022 grant cycle.鈥�

Under the current schedule, the department is due to award grants to states by Sept. 30, which means the department has less than four months to finalize its rule, post the grant application and review submissions. New and expanding charter schools depend on the grant program because they don鈥檛 receive funding until after they begin serving students.

The senators want the department to allow charter operators to apply for the program under existing rules released in 2020.

鈥淭he time frame is definitely very tight, which is why it鈥檚 better to stick to the old rule this year,鈥� said Nina Rees, CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. The Alliance is opposed to the department鈥檚 major revisions to the rule and argues it would hurt charters at a time when the sector has seen record growth. 

The department didn鈥檛 directly respond to the bipartisan letter, but said in a statement that the proposed rule is intended to 鈥渋mprove the quality and accountability of charter schools.鈥�

Bennet, Feinstein and Booker advocate for funding for the Charter Schools Program every year, Rees said, but added it鈥檚 significant that they鈥檙e 鈥渆xpressing their views publicly.鈥�

鈥淲e hope the department takes them seriously,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he three are not just any Democrats. They come from 鈥� states with a rich history of chartering.鈥�

The $1.75 trillion Build Back Better plan, which the House passed in November, has been stalled in the Senate largely due to opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate West Virginia Democrat, to some proposals, including extending a beefed-up version of the credit. The monthly payments, up to $300 per month for young children, ended in December. shows most families have used the money for rent, groceries and school-related expenses.

鈥淭he expanded [Child Tax Credit] is a signature domestic policy achievement of this administration, and has been an overwhelming success,鈥� Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Rev. Ralph Warnock of Georgia and Ron Wyden of Oregon wrote in . 鈥淎fter historic progress, it is unacceptable to return to a status quo in which children are America鈥檚 poorest residents and child poverty costs our nation more than $1 trillion per year.鈥�

The senators鈥� letter comes a week after Biden cast doubt on his ability to reach a deal with Manchin that includes the expanded credit. In a Jan. 19 press conference, he said he cares 鈥渁 great deal鈥� about the credit and said he would keep trying to get it passed. The senators also highlighted showing such policies can have positive impacts on babies鈥� brain development. With the Senate soon expected to return to over Build Back Better, the question is whether the study could influence Manchin鈥檚 position.

Supporters of cash support for low-income families are 鈥渜uite enthusiastic鈥� about the findings, said Greg Duncan, an education professor at the University of California, Irvine, and a lead researcher on the $17 million project. He鈥檚 working with advocacy groups in West Virginia to schedule a briefing for Manchin, and added that the researchers have 鈥渢ried to connect with all sorts of people on the political spectrum.鈥�

The first U.S. evaluation of a 鈥渄irect poverty reduction鈥� focused on early childhood, according to the press release, the study randomly assigned 1,000 low-income, mostly Black and Hispanic mothers in four cities to receive debit cards with monthly payments of either $333 or a nominal $20. After one year, infants in households that received the assistance were more likely than those in the control group to show brain activity associated with thinking and learning.

The researchers suggest that the cash support can reduce stress on mothers and in turn improve home environments for young children. The study began before the pandemic, but by researchers at the University of Oregon have shown that lockdowns, family isolation and financial stress related to COVID-19 have led to greater anxiety among parents and irritability among children.

While researchers can鈥檛 predict if children in the families receiving the payments will continue to have an advantage, they didn鈥檛 expect to see such quick results.

鈥淚t surprised most of us that after only one year of [cash] transfers that this would actually show up as clearly as it did in the data,鈥� Duncan said. 鈥淲e always take the long view and thought it would take several years before the stress levels would be reduced.鈥�

A second paper focusing on whether mothers spent the money on drugs or alcohol is expected this spring, followed by a third looking at whether the financial support is associated with mothers pulling out of the workforce. Critics, including Manchin, argue such programs should have a work requirement.

Duncan said that the findings add to a body of evidence that suggests 鈥渋ncome has a causal effect on child well-being, particularly in early childhood and when poverty is quite persistent.鈥�

Katharine Stevens, founder and CEO of the Center on Child and Family Policy, called the study an 鈥渦nusually rigorous attempt to begin identifying the most effective, policy-relevant drivers of child well-being.鈥� But she rejected the suggestion that the money was a direct cause of the brain growth in children.聽

Babies 鈥渄o not eat, breathe or interact with money,鈥� she said, adding that more research is needed to determine the 鈥渕echanisms that matter most鈥� in young children鈥檚 development. 

Then the whole family, Hudson鈥檚 partner included, got sick with COVID-19. They found themselves overspending on a laundry service because they couldn鈥檛 go to the laundromat and ordering take-out meals because they were too weak to cook.

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Even when she could gather the strength to help 10-year-old Emerson with his schoolwork, Hudson said 鈥渢eaching him at home was way out of the realm of things I’m good at.鈥� But now, the $500 she鈥檚 receiving each month in federal child tax credit payments allows her son to attend an afterschool program three days per week and Hudson to return to her classes.

鈥淗e鈥檒l get to play with other kids again,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd he’s going to be getting professional help with his homework.鈥�

The monthly deposits, which began in July, are a temporary boost to the bank accounts of most families in the nation 鈥� a result of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Congress passed in March. Benefiting roughly 61 million children, the legislation increased the annual credit from $2,000 to $3,000, or $3,600 for children under 6. Adding a provision that disburses a portion each month has allowed families to buy more and catch up with , initial surveys show. Making the payments permanent is a major priority for progressive Democrats, while President Joe Biden has proposed a more limited extension. Either way, the policy is a focal point of the left鈥檚 efforts to pass a major reconciliation bill over Republican opposition.

鈥淚n my mind, there鈥檚 not a more important education reform that you could pass than making the Child Tax Credit permanent,鈥� Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado told 蜜桃影视. The former Denver Public Schools superintendent is one of six Democrats in Congress pushing to ensure the payments continue.

But Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a Democrat who has said he won鈥檛 vote for a $3.5 trillion package, questions whether the extension should move forward without that recipients are working.

continues the credit for four more years, and makes it permanently refundable, meaning that even if parents earn too little to pay federal taxes, they鈥檒l still get the credit. But that was when Democrats were set on passing a $3.5 trillion package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has acknowledged that the final figure is likely to .

The impact of the tax credit on families has been of particular interest to Phil Fisher, a psychology professor at the University of Oregon. Not long after the pandemic began, he began tracking the extent to which financial strain, vanishing child care and family isolation led to increased parental anxiety and greater irritability among children. Families 鈥� especially those who are low-income, single-parent, Black and Hispanic 鈥� whether they would be able to cover their housing, food and other basic needs from one month to the next. That unpredictability only contributed to the stress.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e worried about how much food you’re going to have on your table, if you鈥檙e worried you鈥檙e going to be evicted, it’s harder to be responsive to your kids,鈥� Fisher said. 鈥淭hese payments are a big shot in the arm for families that are in need.鈥�

The effects of economic hardship on young children go beyond crying spells or tantrums 鈥� and could add to the challenges educators face as those children enter school. Children born during the pandemic have lower language, motor and cognitive skills than those in a pre-pandemic sample, according to from researchers at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital.

鈥淲ork-from-home and shelter-in-place orders, for example, along with closed daycares, nurseries, and preschools may have dramatically changed the quantity and quality of parent, caregiver, and teacher-child interaction and stimulation,鈥� they wrote, but added that development among young children in more well-off households has been less affected.

The findings have not yet been reviewed by other researchers, but the conclusions add to the results of of Massachusetts parents with young children. Fifty-eight percent said the pandemic has negatively impacted their young children鈥檚 academic development.

鈥榃orking, married or misusing the money鈥�

Measuring how families spent the additional money 鈥� and whether guaranteed income actually improved children鈥檚 well-being and ability to learn 鈥� are key policy issues for policymakers and researchers.

That鈥檚 why many are anticipating the results of a timely study that aims to answer those questions. , a $17 million project launched in 2018, doesn鈥檛 focus specifically on the child tax credit, but rather examines the impact of a similar, unrestricted monthly payment, which the families will stop receiving when the children reach 3 years and 4 months. Most are just now turning 3.

The researchers recruited 1,000 low-income mothers with infants, gave them debit cards and randomly selected them to receive either $333 or $20 each month until the children were old enough for preschool. The researchers are tracking the children鈥檚 brain function and development to measure the impact of a poverty-reduction program during the early years.

Initial results will be released later this fall. The researchers are also examining whether the mothers are still employed and whether they鈥檙e using the extra income for drugs or alcohol 鈥� questions that lead researcher Greg Duncan, an education professor at the University of California, Irvine, has come to expect based on decades of work in this area.

鈥淵ou never see the political debate focus on anything other than whether the mom is working, married or misusing the money,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 never about the child.鈥�

In fact, restrictions on who should be eligible for such payments have been among Republicans鈥� stipulations for expanding the credit. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley鈥檚 would double the amount available to married couples 鈥� $12,000 annually, compared with $6,000 for single parents. Like Manchin, Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah say to receive the credit. In addition, some Republicans have argued the rush to set up the monthly payments could or improper payments to those who aren鈥檛 eligible.

But Fisher said the pandemic makes it harder to determine whether some families are more deserving than others. His research shows that many families 鈥渨ent over the edge very quickly鈥� because they didn鈥檛 have any savings or were unable to get a credit card.

鈥楾he biggest difference鈥�

Initial surveys show most parents have used the child tax credit funds to cover basic necessities, such as food, utilities and rent. But from ParentsTogether Action, a national advocacy group, showed more than a quarter of the 1,200 parents responding put the money toward enrichment for their children and 12 percent spent it on education.

After a year of turning down her daughters鈥� requests, Christa Jimenez of Denver said the extra $500 per month means she can say yes to things like new art supplies and a streaming service so they can watch PBS shows in Spanish.

The pandemic has been a 鈥渟traight-up period of no for parenting,鈥� she said. 鈥淣o, you can鈥檛 see Grandma. Now you can鈥檛 go to the park. No to afterschool activities.鈥�

She doesn鈥檛 know if her children鈥檚 school will offer enrichment programs this fall, like chess club and choir, but that鈥檚 another way she hopes to use the funds. Federal relief bills included three rounds of stimulus payments for families 鈥� totaling $3,200. But Jimenez, who saw her work as a and small business owner dry up last year, said the child tax credit has been even more helpful.

鈥淚t鈥檚 made the biggest difference for our family,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 monthly, so you can plan for it.鈥�

But for how long?

The current proposal extends the credit through 2025, which would cost by $450 billion, according to the nonprofit Tax Foundation鈥檚 .

would extend it for three years. But Bennett said making the increase permanent would impact millions of children and cut the nation鈥檚 16 percent in half.

鈥淥ur job as proponents is to push as hard as we can to extend it for as long as we can,鈥� Bennett said.

Democrats saw a chance for a bipartisan approach to the issue earlier this year when Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah proposed a that would also send monthly payments to families. But Bennet said as long as the GOP isn鈥檛 willing to reverse any of former President Donald Trump鈥檚 , there鈥檚 no room for negotiation.

That could change in two years if Republicans gain control of the House, said Katharine Stevens, a resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. She and colleague Matt Weidinger have their that would allow parents to bank future tax credit funds in advance 鈥� as much as $15,000 per year 鈥� so they can either work less during their child鈥檚 earliest years or afford quality child care.

She called the Democrats鈥� plan 鈥渟hort-sighted鈥� and recommended they at least evaluate whether children鈥檚 lives improve under this policy before extending the increase indefinitely.

鈥淢oney does not enhance early development,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat money can do is help create the conditions that support early development.鈥�