House Democrats introduced a bill on Monday that would make the enhanced child tax credit in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package permanent, a push that is unlikely to rally enough support to pass in the Senate. 

The measure would uphold the expansion of the 2021 child tax credits that increased from $2,000 to $3,000 for children between ages six and seventeen and $3,600 per child under the age of six.

Under Biden’s American Rescue Plan, parents could receive the payments from the IRS in the form of $250 or $300 monthly checks, depending on the age of the child. Single parents making up to $75,000 and joint filers earning up to $150,000 will receive the full amount. The agency reported that payments will start being sent out over the summer. 

About 90 percent of families would benefit from the expansion, according to the Tax Policy Center, and experts have noted that the program would halve the country’s child poverty rate.

“We must use this moment to pass the American Family Act and permanently expand and improve the child tax credit by increasing the benefit to families and providing payments monthly,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), a leader of the effort, said in a statement. “Children and families must be able to count on this benefit long after the end of this pandemic.” 

Other Democrats behind the initiative include Reps. Suzan DelBene (Wash.) and Ritchie Torres (N.Y.).

Biden is unlikely to throw his support behind the plan, as he met with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus last week and seemed reluctant to make the expansion permanent.

“He said ‘I’d love to do it permanent, but I’m not sure that I can get that through the Senate,’” Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.) told reporters after a meeting with the president. “You could tell he was interested in making it permanent, that was the back and forth on that.” 

The president did note, however, that he was open to extending the tax credits for several years.

Democrats are also urging lawmakers on Capitol Hill to include the program in Biden’s upcoming infrastructure plan, calling the proposal “care infrastructure,” further widening the definition of infrastructure that no longer just targets traditional infrastructure spending. Democrats insist that the bill should cover all systems that build a prosperous economy. 

“Our economy is premised on the idea that some workers are worthy of ‘perks,’ like paid leave or affordable child care that works for their schedules, while the majority are forced to fend for themselves,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.), a leader behind the effort, said in a statement. “For our economy to fully recover from this pandemic, we must finally acknowledge that workers have families, and caregiving responsibilities are real.” 

Although the expansive proposal could rally enough support from Democrats, it’s unlikely to see much success in the Senate, considering the party’s razor-thin margins. 

Rachel Bucchino is a reporter at the National Interest. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report and The Hill. 

Image: Reuters