During a Senate Finance hearing on Wednesday, June 8th, 2022, regarding the President’s FY23 budget request, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) used some of his time to applaud Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, and Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) on their work involving the implementation of the advanced Child Tax Credit payments. To emphasize just how important these payments are, he mentioned how the CTC “slashed hunger rates by one-third and cut child poverty by 40%.” These findings have fueled Senator Brown, alongside Chairman Wyden, Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), and others to continue to push for extension.
Senator Brown asked Secretary Yellen to comment on the claims that CTC is a primary driver of inflation as well as “would extending the expansion help families keep up with rising costs?” Secretary Yellen responded that the expansion of the CTC was “not a significant factor” and has “literally nothing to do” with inflation. She reiterated Senator Brown’s earlier remarks that “the aid that was provided through the CTC during the pandemic, reduced poverty by almost a half and all the evidence we have suggests that the CTC reduced inequality.”
Additionally, Secretary Yellen pointed out that in 2021, U.S food consumption was above pre-pandemic level, which meant that families were using the additional resources they received from the CTC to feed their children. She acknowledged that it may have had some marginal impact on food prices, but more importantly, fewer kids went hungry.
