In a last-ditch bid to revive the expanded Child Tax Credit in some form by year's end, the White House has reportedly suggested to congressional Democrats that it is willing to accept a compromise deal that adds more stringent work requirements to the anti-poverty program—a reversal of President Joe Biden's previous opposition to such restrictions and a move that some progressives condemned.
The Child Tax Credit (CTC) boost enacted in 2021 did not contain a work requirement, meaning the poorest families were eligible for the CTC for the first time. But the CTC enhancement, which brought about historic reductions in U.S. child poverty, expired at the end of last year due to the opposition of Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who refused to support a renewal of the expanded CTC unless a "firm work requirement" was added.
