Fourth Stimulus Check Update: Calls For Permanent Direct Payments Grow Amid New Deposits

Many Americans woke up to new money in their bank accounts this week thanks to the first deposits from the Expanded Child Tax Credit, and similar to previous stimulus checks, advocated are already calling for an extension to the direct payments to Americans who are still struggling due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The Expanded Credit, which was a part of the American Rescue Plan, sees payments of $300 a month per child under age 6 and $250 a month per child 6-17 being deposited into parents' bank accounts on a monthly basis, currently through December 2021. Parents are eligible to receive a max credit of $3,600 per child under 6 and $3,000 per child 6-17, with the second half of the credit coming when they file their 2021 taxes next year.

However, advocates, who believe that and other initiatives included in the Rescue plan will help cut child poverty in half, are already pushing President Joe Biden to make the expansion permanent, CNBC reports. While Democrats are currently in agreement that they should be extended, with hopes that the program can be expanded to 2025, there is a hefty tab attached to making it a permanent feature which will be harder to get through Congress, which is currently split evenly in the Senate and sees a slim Democratic majority in the House.

Shai Akbas, director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center told CNBC that a permanent child tax credit would cost approximately $1.5 trillion over a 10-year period, which is a hefty price tag to swallow. With Republicans pushing for less government spending, getting both them and more Moderate Democrats would be a hard sell.

This isn’t the only economic benefit that Americans have called for some expansion on since the Pandemic hit. Many have called for a fourth Economic Impact Payment despite the economy rebounding in recent months, while a petition has also called for automatic stabilizing payments if certain economic benchmarks are met. Those payments, which are the subject of a growing Change.org petition, call for $2,000 monthly installments for everyone eligible until the economic crisis passed.

The current administration hasn’t fully ruled out the idea of more stimulus checks in the future, though they aren’t currently on the table, and experts warn that there aren’t many who are advocating for them since there are still other forms of economic aid available. It is unclear if the Expanded Child Tax Credit will ultimately suffer from a similar fate.