The White House rules out pushing Congress to extend Biden's monthly child tax credit that's about to expire
- The White House has ruled out pushing for an immediate extension of its checks for families.
- The federal payments are set to expire unless Congress steps in by year's end.
The White House will not push Congress to extend President Joe Biden's monthly child tax credit, citing the lack of Republican support needed to pass a standalone bill separate from their sprawling $2 trillion social and climate spending plan.
"We do not have 60 votes in the Senate to have — to do that as a standalone," Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House principal deputy press secretary, said at a press conference on Thursday.
It sets the stage for an abrupt end next month to the monthly payments that have been going to 35 million families. The centerpiece of Biden's economic agenda has stalled out in the Senate due to resistance from Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a key swing vote. Senate Democrats must have unanimity in order to sidestep GOP resistance and clear the package.
A key part of the Build Back Better bill is a one-year extension of the child tax credit, which provides families with up to $300 per kid a month. It's scheduled to expire at the end of the year, and the IRS issued final payments to those 35 million families on Wednesday.
Some Senate Democrats said on Wednesday that they were in discussions about drafting a bill to extend the cash payments separate from their hefty spending bill. But their enthusiasm largely cooled on Thursday.
Sen. Michael Bennet, an architect of the measure, told reporters on Thursday evening that he would pitch Manchin on extending the credit on the Senate floor. Manchin has expressed resistance to renewing it, given that it has a hefty 10-year price tag that runs up to his red line of new federal spending.
"I hope to remind him that that it's been a long time since this Congress cut childhood hunger by 25%. In fact, Congress has never done that before and cut childhood poverty almost in half," he told reporters. "I've seen this place work holiday miracles when tax cuts need to be extended for rich people. I think poor kids in America deserve at least that much out of the US Senate."