Booker Hosts Roundtable Discussion on the Impact of Child Tax Credit Payments

Newark, N.J – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) hosted a virtual roundtable discussion with advocates, experts, and New Jersey parents to highlight the importance of the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC). During the conversation, Booker heard directly from parents who shared stories detailing the impact that monthly CTC payments have had on their families’ lives and also from researchers about the results of a recently published, groundbreaking study that showed cash assistance to low-income families improved brain activity in infants.

Just this week, Booker joined a letter calling on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to secure an extension of the expanded CTC as a centerpiece of the Build Back Better package.

“The stories I heard from New Jersey parents today echo those that I have heard since the first payments of the expanded CTC were issued last year in July: namely that this historic tax cut has helped families pay bills, put food on the table, lower childcare and healthcare costs, and more,” said Sen. Booker. “Because of the success of these critical payments, our nation is on the path to cut child poverty in half, provide urgent financial relief to 90% of families with kids, and strengthen our entire economy. I remain committed to ensuring that the CTC program is extended and am grateful to the advocates, policy experts, and families who have elevated this issue and joined this fight.”

“The Child Tax Credit has been a transformational investment in American families,” said Renee Koubiadis, Director of New Jersey Citizen Action’s Anti-Poverty Network. “The credit lifted 3.7 million children out of poverty last year during the pandemic. Now countless parents and children have been deprived of critical resources that helped them survive or even thrive during uncertain times. We thank Senator Booker for championing the CTC, and urge our entire New Jersey delegation to follow his example in pushing for it to be extended.”

Booker has long been a champion of the expanded CTC. Alongside Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), he introduced the American Family Act which outlined the expanded CTC program and was later included in the American Recovery Plan. He has also decried Republican efforts to reverse CTC payments and spoken on the Senate floor to discuss the impact of the CTC on families with kids.