27岁的校车司机、7岁女儿的母亲布里汉纳·西姆斯(Brihanna Sims)每年夏天，当路线数量缩减时，都会面临经济拮据。
2020年夏天，因为新冠肺炎而举办的课程意味着更少的路线和更大的压力。虽然她在今年之前获得了儿童税收抵免，但每月的定期付款和较大的金额来自扩大儿童税收抵免西姆斯说，成为了西姆斯和女儿艾迪琳的“安全毯”。
“她不必看到我强调‘哦，我的天哪，这个月我没有足够的时间。我赚够了吗?我要交房租吗?“我们会好起来吗?””西姆说。
根据美国国税局的数据，根据美国救援计划的一项规定，目前有3900万个家庭有资格获得扩大的儿童税收抵免，但目前的计划将在年底失效。乔·拜登总统曾提议将其延长至2025年，但现在可能只再延长一年，因为在温和派要求削减总统计划成本的压力下，民主党削减了他们的社会支出计划。
儿童保护基金的贫困政策主任艾玛·迈赫拉比说，每月支付的费用以不同的方式让孩子、父母和照顾者受益——从每月租金到食品杂货，再到新建立的储蓄账户。
迈赫拉比说:“他们从未经历过每月这种类型的收入可预测性，这可能给了他们一点额外的提升，一种安全感、解脱感和快乐感。
Mehrabi还说，每月支付，而不是以前只有在税收季节才会出现的小额支付，可以改变生活。
“对于那些对政府感到失望和恐惧的人来说，这可能意味着什么，”迈赫拉比说。
根据哥伦比亚大学的一项研究，从6月到7月，仅第一笔儿童税收抵免付款就使300万儿童脱离了贫困线。
预算和政策优先中心联邦税收政策副主任克里斯·考克斯(Kris Cox)表示，扩大计划是美国跟上其他国家步伐的一个机会。
考克斯说:“许多其他发达国家都有儿童津贴，承认父母和家庭有抚养孩子的特殊经济义务。
考克斯补充说:“我们知道，在收入更高的家庭长大的孩子更健康，他们在学校表现更好，他们成年后挣得更多。“给孩子一个坚强的人生起点，这太重要了。”
西姆斯说，她是现实的，并计划如果扩大的儿童税收抵免付款消失会发生什么。
她还将自己的精力投入到活动中，志愿服务于明尼苏达州一个名为理发店和黑人集会合作社的联盟，该联盟致力于向社区中的人们宣传政治人物和政策，包括儿童税收抵免。
“现在，我正在为事情回归常态做准备，”西姆斯说。“回到我以前的那种预算，对事情进行真正的紧缩。但我也让自己保持乐观，相信这种情况可能会改变。”
Parents brace for more limited Child Tax Credit in Democratic dealmaking
Brihanna Sims, a 27-year-old school bus driver and mother of a 7-year-old daughter, faces a financial pinch each summer when the number of routes are scaled back.
In summer 2020, classes held virtually because of COVID-19 meant even fewer routes and more strain. Although she received the Child Tax Credit before this year, the regular monthly payments and larger sum from the expandedChild Tax Creditbecame a "safety blanket" for Sims and her daughter, Addilynn, Sims said.
"She doesn't have to see me stress about, 'Oh my goodness, I didn't get enough hours this month. Am I gonna make enough? Am I gonna make rent? Are we gonna be OK?'" Sims said.
Under a provision in the American Rescue Plan, 39 million families are now eligible for the expanded Child Tax Credit, according to the IRS, but the current program is set to lapse at the end of the year. President Joe Biden had proposed extending it through 2025, but it now may be extended only one additional year as Democrats pare back their social spending package amid pressure from moderates to cut the cost of the president's plan.
Emma Mehrabi, director of poverty policy at the Children's Defense Fund, said the monthly payments have benefited children, parents and caregivers in different ways -- from monthly rent to groceries to newly established savings accounts.
"They've never experienced this type of income predictability each month, that has maybe given them a little bit of extra boost, a sense of security and relief and joy," Mehrabi said.
Mehrabi also said the monthly payments, rather than the smaller payouts that used to come only during tax season, can make a life-changing difference.
"That can mean something to somebody who has felt disillusioned and fearful of the government," Mehrabi said.
The first Child Tax Credit payment alone lifted 3 million children above the poverty line from June to July, according to a Columbia University study.
Kris Cox, deputy director of federal tax policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said the expanded program is an opportunity for the U.S. to get up to speed with other nations.
"Many other developed countries have had child allowances that recognize that parents and families have particular financial obligations to raise children," Cox said.
"We know that kids who grew up in homes with more income are healthier, that they do better in school, that they earn more as adults," Cox added. "It's just so important to give children a strong start in life."
Sims said she's being realistic and planning for what happens if the expanded Child Tax Credit payments disappear.
She also channels her energy into activism, volunteering for a coalition in Minnesota called the Barbershops and Black Congregation Cooperative that works to inform people in the community about political figures and policies, including the Child Tax Credit.
"Right now, I am preparing myself for things to go back to the norm," Sims said. "Going back to that kind of budget that I had before, and putting a real tightening on things. But I'm also keeping myself positive that maybe this can change."
