Thread by @SenatorBennet

As the Superintendent of Denver Public Schools, I saw daily how growing up in poverty can shape a child's future.

Over the next few weeks, I'll highlight how the #ChildTaxCredit benefited over 60 million kids and why I've been relentlessly advocating for it. 🧵

Since I joined the Senate, I've been pushing for an expanded, more inclusive #ChildTaxCredit to cut child poverty.

We got it done in 2021, reducing the child poverty rate by almost half, according to @CenterOnBudget. Now, we need to make it permanent.

With the #ChildTaxCredit, we dramatically cut child poverty in Black and Latino communities.

Before 2020, 1 in 6 Black children were living below the poverty line. In 2021, thanks to the CTC, that number was 1 in 12 -- which is still outrageous.

We live in one of the world's wealthiest countries, but we have the 4th highest poverty rate among developed countries.

The expanded #ChildTaxCredit changed that, moving our childhood poverty rate to 10th (@CpspPoverty). We should continue moving forward, not backward.

The #ChildTaxCredit expansion was so effective because it made the credit fully available to low-income families. Because we didn’t make the expansion permanent, currently 1 in 3 kids do not get the full credit, including half of Black and Latino kids.
nber.org/system/files/w…

Congress let the #ChildTaxCredit expire, forcing 3.5 million kids back into poverty, according to @CpspPoverty.

Writing legislation is one thing, but implementing it is another. And by any measure, the @IRSnews did a great job of getting the #ChildTaxCredit to families: in the second half of 2021, it sent out $94 billion of CTC payments to the families of 62 million kids.

The first #ChildTaxCredit payments went out to an estimated 88% of kids, and by the end of 2021, about 90% of kids received payments. It took the @IRSnews just four months to stand up a payment delivery system that exceeded pre-pandemic expectations for getting money to kids.

I understand that people worry that federal programs make mistakes and send money to the wrong folks. @TIGTA found the 2021 CTC had a *98% accuracy rate* – and I’m confident that if we make it permanent, @IRSnews would do even better.
oversight.gov/sites/default/…

The 2021 expanded #ChildTaxCredit empowered families with more money, but what did they do with it? They used it to put food on the table, pay the bills, and buy clothes and school supplies.

The #ChildTaxCredit had a major effect on childhood hunger. After the first payment in July 2021, we saw hunger for families with kids drop by a quarter.

The #ChildTaxCredit had an even more powerful anti-hunger effect among low-income families with kids. Their hunger rate dropped by one-third.

Families didn’t just buy more food with their #ChildTaxCredit – they also ate healthier.

@BrookingsGlobal found that families were more likely to eat fruit and protein and afford a balanced meal.
brookings.edu/wp-content/upl…

Unsurprisingly and unfortunately, when Congress let the expanded #ChildTaxCredit expire, childhood hunger increased. A @JAMA_current study found that food insufficiency went up 25% for families with kids after the last #ChildTaxCredit payment went out.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…

The 2021 #ChildTaxCredit brought financial security to families who didn't have it. One survey found that CTC-eligible households saw their credit card debt fall and reduced their reliance on services like payday loans, pawn shops, and even *selling blood plasma.*

.@UCIrvine researchers found that families used the expanded #ChildTaxCredit to pay down debt, increase savings, and reduce overdraft fees.

94% of parents receiving the expanded #ChildTaxCredit found the payments useful for making ends meet.
CC: @NPilkauskas & @pbcooney

The #ChildTaxCredit improved not only financial security among families but mental and physical security too. A @JAMA_current study from @lindsbullinger and Angela Boy saw that ER visits for child abuse and neglect fell in the days following CTC payments.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…

Researchers at @UCSF found that the #ChildTaxCredit expansion reduced anxiety and depression among low-income parents. And they suggest the results could be even stronger if the expansion were permanent.

41% of low- and moderate-income families said that the #ChildTaxCredit reduced their financial stress. 16% said it helped reduce their overall stress/anxiety, and 17% said it reduced stress/anxiety among their kids. cssp.org/wp-content/upl…

A big part of the discussion about the success of the #ChildTaxCredit has focused on what it does to workforce participation. The data is in – families receiving the #ChildTaxCredit kept working.

A @DallasFed study found that the expanded CTC had close to zero effect on employment for most families and likely *increased* workforce participation for moms with an out-of-work parent.

When @brandonriquez, @nomadj1s, and @ernietedeschi compared employment across households receiving different-sized #ChildTaxCredit increases, they did not "find strong evidence of a change in labor supply for families receiving the credit."

Several researchers from @Columbia, @BarnardCollege, & @UCIrvine have found no effect on work.

@LizAnanat, @BenGlasner, @ChristalH8, & @ZParolin found the expanded CTC did not have consistent, noticeable effects on parents’ employment.

Read more: nber.org/papers/w29823

And @urbaninstitute researchers Karpman, @ElaineMaag, @zuckermans, & @dwissoker found “no significant differences in the changes in employment between December 2020 and December 2021 for adults who received the payments and adults who did not receive the payments.”

The evidence is clear: the #ChildTaxCredit worked. And without it, families are struggling.

That's why I'm fighting to make this lifeline permanent.