The expanded child tax credit, which came into existence after the passage of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, is known to have reduced child poverty by a significant amount. However, those enhanced payments, which provided direct checks to most American families each month between July and December of 2021, expired at the end of last year. 

What has the end of Child Tax Credit payments meant for American families? Nothing good, according to a recently-released report.

According to the report by Parents Together Action, nine out of ten parents surveyed say they are “finding it harder to make ends meet,” while 45 percent of struggling parents say they have skipped meals so their kids can eat. Rising inflation and the expanded child tax credit expiration have combined to create this scenario. 

The survey was taken in April, the fourth month without payments. 

“Families are facing a perfect storm of challenges as prices rise and Congress continues to delay extending the monthly Child Tax Credit payments that kept millions of families afloat last year,”  Justin Ruben, co-Director of ParentsTogether Action, said in the release. “Ending these lifesaving payments drove up hunger and forced parents to make impossible choices to try to keep their families fed and housed. It’s long past time Congress acts to extend monthly Child Checks now before more kids suffer.”

When asked which rising prices they’ve noticed, nearly 96 percent answered food prices, 93 percent said gas prices, 61 percent responded with utilities, and more than 50 percent said rent or mortgage payments. 

In addition, 68 percent surveyed said that “rising costs have prevented them from saving for the future,” while another 64 percent answered that they have had to dip into their emergency savings. 

The survey also specifically asked about the child tax credit. 

“When asked about what policies would help to counteract the financial duress from inflation, 76% of respondents said continuing the Child Tax Credit payments of up to $300 per child per month would help,” the survey report said. “84 percent of respondents said those payments made them less anxious about their finances. 77 percent of parents who received a Child Check in 2021 said they made a ‘huge difference’ for their family.”

When asked what they spent the money from their child tax credit on, 80 percent answered food, 67 percent answered utilities, 60 percent said housing, and 41 percent answered extracurriculars for their kids.

While some members of Congress haven’t yet given up on the idea of reviving the expanded child tax credit, it doesn’t appear that there is any realistic path to do so.

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters.