Sen. Joe Manchin suggests requiring people to work so they can get Biden’s monthly child tax credit

• West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin suggested establishing a work requirement for Biden’s child tax credit.
• “Don’t you think, if we’re going to help the children, that the people should make some effort?” he said on CNN.
• The child tax credit presently provides up to $300 a month for each child aged 5 or younger, or $3,600 annually.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin on Sunday floated the possibility of establishing a work requirement for people to receive the child tax credit, a program that was expanded earlier this year by President Joe Biden and Democrats in the stimulus law.

“I support child tax credits. I sure am trying to help the children,” Manchin, an influential moderate Democrat, said Sunday, though he was hesitant about whether the credit should become permanent when asked Sunday by CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”

“You want to help the children and the parents that are basically providing for those children,” Manchin said. “There’s no work requirements whatsoever. There’s no education requirements whatsoever for better skill sets. Don’t you think, if we’re going to help the children, that the people should make some effort?”

Biden and supporters say the credits serve as an important tool to slash child poverty rates.

Currently, the child tax credit provides up to $300 a month for each child aged 5 or younger, or $3,600 annually. For children between ages 6 and 17, families can receive up to $250 each month, or $3,000 each year.

-State of the Union (@CNNSotu) September 12, 2021

The Democratic stimulus law in March, meant to help shore up the economy from the damage of the coronavirus pandemic, turned the credit into a one-year monthly cash benefit, boosting its amount from $2,000. People who earn $75,000 or less are eligible for full payments. Couples earning a combined $150,000 or less are also eligible for the full tax credit.

Individuals who earn $200,000 or more and couples with a combined income of $400,000 or more are not eligible to receive the credit.

As Insider previously reported, House Democrats and Senate Democrats could clash over the expansion of the tax credit. Democrats in the House are pushing forward on a plan to renew the revamped child tax credit through 2025, while Senate Democrats are eyeing a shorter extension of the credit.