The monthly payments to families for children under the age of 17–payments that have lifted 3.6 million American children out of poverty–will expire at the end of the year, making the $16 billion in payments sent out last week the final distribution unless Congress takes action, Reuters reports.
Sixty-one million children qualified for the monthly payments of $300 per child under age 6 and $250 per child age 6-17. The program was put in place by the Biden Administration’s Build Back Better program. Unlike programs of the previous administration which favored political supporters of the office holder, states that favored Donald Trump in the 2020 election got the highest average payments.
“The lives of tens of millions of children across the country have improved because families have received tax relief when they need it most,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.