Yang: Child tax credit could have helped Dems in midterms
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(NewsNation) — Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang said he believes Democrats would be performing better in polls if they did not let the child tax credit lapse after one year.
The Child Tax Credit was included in the American Rescue Plan Act, the sweeping COVID-relief bill Congress passed in March 2021. The credit offered families making up to $150,000 as much as $3,600 in tax credits for children younger than 6 and $3,000 for children up to age 17.
But the credit’s end in 2022 could hurt Democrats ahead of what will be pivotal midterm elections next week, Yang told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo.
“The Child Tax Credit lifted millions of American families out of poverty and was widely popular in every state,” Yang said.
Yang, the founder of the new “Forward Party,” said he spoke to a team of “swing senators” who told him they felt the Child Tax Credit could have been a difference maker in next week’s elections, which will likely decide control of the Senate. Races in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio and North Carolina all figure to be incredibly tight.
“If the Child Tax Credit were in place, I think the Democrats would have a much, much stronger argument when it comes to inflation, the economy, which is still issue No. 1.”
Indeed, inflation remains the No. 1 issue for voters, according to a NewsNation poll, which shows 45% of respondents believe it to be the most important issue in this year’s midterm elections.
More than half of Republican respondents said it was the No. 1 issue in addition to 43% of independents and 32% of Democrats.
Dozens of Democrats called for action on the Child Tax Credit during the lame duck session, according to The Hill.
Yang, however, said he believes there are enough Republicans to support an extension of the credit that could push it across the finish line.
“There were at least a couple of Republican senators who are open to a version of it. I know this because I was working on the child tax credit in real time,” Yang said. “This is something that 174 economists endorsed. It should be bipartisan or nonpartisan and that’s one reason why some Republican senators are for it, because they’re very pro-family and the child tax credit is great for families.”
