Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) highlighted the transformative impact that four months of Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments have had on New Jersey families. Since monthly payments were first issued in July, nationally, the CTC has provided historic economic relief for nearly 39 million households, covering almost 90 percent of children in the country, and setting the U.S. on course to cut child poverty by half. Statistics from the Treasury Department and IRS show that $1,552,834,000 in CTC payments was awarded to New Jersey families from July to October, with more than 1.6 million New Jersey children being covered in October alone.
“Four months ago, families across the United States received their first child tax credit payments, a historic investment in the lives of working people that has helped struggling parents put food on the table, cover child care costs, and buy school supplies,” said Sen. Booker. “In New Jersey specifically, this transformative policy has been a lifeline for the 14% of children who lived in poverty prior to the pandemic, helping change life trajectories and positioning our state for stronger economic growth. I am especially encouraged to see President Biden’s Build Back Better framework include an extension of these payments.”
Booker has worked extensively on expanding tax credits for working and middle class families. In 2019, he introduced the American Families Act and the Working Families Tax Relief Act that would permanently expand the CTC and the Earned Income Tax Credit for children and low-income families. Booker has also decried Republican efforts to reverse CTC payments and spoke on the Senate floor to discuss the impact of the CTC on families with kids.