This Monthly Coronavirus Stimulus Check May End For Some Due to This Senator

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Coronavirus stimulus checks proved a lifeline for many during the pandemic, but now, more stimulus checks are unlikely. One stimulus check, however, is still continuing and it is the expanded child tax credit. There are also talks of making this payment permanent, but this monthly coronavirus stimulus check may soon disappear for some because of one senator.

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Manchin Plans To Limit Monthly Coronavirus Stimulus Check

Joe Manchin, the Democratic Senator from West Virginia, feels that CTC payments are too generous and too many people are getting it. These stimulus checks are going as direct deposits to about 36 million families.

Manchin recently told the White House about his intention to add two new requirements to the CTC payment going forward. The first is the work requirement and the second is the family income cap of $60,000 to ensure the money reaches the “right people.”

With the first requirement, Manchin suggests that the taxpayer should either be working or pursuing education to be eligible for the CTC payment. The senator argues that without any work requirement, the society and economy will develop an "entitlement mentality."

“There’s no work requirements whatsoever. There’s no education requirements whatsoever for better skill sets,” Manchin told CNN last month. “Don’t you think if we’re going to help the children, that the people should make some effort?”

Manchin’s proposal to put an income cap would reduce the number of families who qualify for the child tax credit payment.

Separately, he told CNN last month that connecting the credit to having a job would ensure assistance was provided to "the right people.

Is Manchin Right About The Child Tax Credit?

Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan, which was approved in March this year, expanded the child tax credit for a year. Under the expanded program, eligible families could get a monthly payment of $250 or $300 per child.

Many Congressional Democrats are in favor of making the child tax credit permanent as it assists families in paying for basic necessities, including education, housing, child care and health care. Supporting this argument, an August Columbia University study found that the first CTC payment, which went out in July, lifted about 3 million out of poverty.

Many Democratic lawmakers and left-leaning groups believe that Manchin’s proposal may weaken the credit’s ability to lower child poverty or support families in paying for critical expenses.

Last week, an analysis by researchers from the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Bocconi University, Columbia University, and Barnard College, found that the credit had "statistically insignificant impacts" on job seeking and workforce participation.

House Democrats favor extending the revamped child tax credit until 2025, as well as retaining the system of issuing the monthly payments to eligible families. Previously, the child tax credit was an annual payment, as well as prevented families with low or no tax bills from getting the full amount.