37 million Americans live in poverty, child poverty rate doubles by 2022

According to experts, dramatic increase in child poverty is due to expiration of  enhanced Child Tax Credit from the American Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that the child poverty rate has increased to 12.4% in 2022, more than doubling from 5.2% in 2021.

The overall U.S. poverty rate also increased to 12.4% in 2022, meaning that more than 37 million Americans live in poverty.

According to experts, the dramatic increase in child poverty is due to the expiration of the enhanced Child Tax Credit (CTC) from the American Rescue Plan (ARP).

This plan provided families with up to $300 per month for each child.

Although most families use the funds for essentials such as food and rent, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who originally supported the ARP, has opposed its extension.

He suggested, without evidence, that some parents might spend the extra money on drugs.

In addition, all Republicans in Congress opposed extending the expanded CTC. The termination of this program led to the predicted increase in child poverty, the highest increase ever recorded in a single year.

Experts believe that keeping the expanded CTC in place could have prevented more than half of the 5.2 million increase in the number of impoverished children.

President Joe Biden attributed the rise in child poverty solely to Republican lawmakers, overlooking the crucial role of Senator Manchin.

When asked about the report, Senator Manchin emphasized shared responsibility, stating: “The federal government cannot fix everything.”

He also noted that he had not yet reviewed the latest poverty statistics.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said in a statement that the new census data were “utterly heartbreaking and deeply disappointing.”