As the first round of monthly child tax credits hit Americans’ bank accounts Thursday, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took a victory lap at the White House, speaking about the “historic day” for American families and emphasizing the sea change the payments could represent for millions of American children living in poverty.
“Today, for families all over our country, for children all over our country, help is here,” Harris said, before introducing the president. “This has never happened before. And America, yes, it is a big deal.”
Biden and Harris marked the rollout of checks and direct deposits from the child tax credit with a White House event featuring Americans set to benefit. Both leaders nodded to those families in their remarks.
“This has the potential to reduce child poverty in the same way that the Social Security reduced poverty for the elderly,” Biden said.
With the policy, families making less than $150,000 a year and single parents making less than $112,500 are now eligible for a credit of up to $3,600 per child. Payments will be going out to 39 million households, according to the IRS.
