Congress Should Send More Direct Payments, According to Millennials

Millennials want federal lawmakers to approve more monthly payments for parents, according to exclusive polling done for Newsweek.

A survey of 1,500 people conducted between August 5 and 6 by Redfield & Wilton Strategies shows that 60 percent of Americans aged 27 to 42 support Congress reinstating the child tax credit, which temporarily gave qualifying parents up to $3,600 per child annually. Only 14 percent of millennials opposed reviving the benefit, and another 21 percent said they neither supported nor opposed doing so.

Congress approved monthly payments of up to $300 per child for six months during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the credit lapsed in 2021 after lawmakers failed to extend it. In the time that it was available, the credit lifted 3.7 million children out of poverty.

Restoring the child tax credit appears to be widely popular. More than half of all Americans said they supported bringing the credit back, while only 18 percent were opposed.

The poll also shows the credit is supported by 55 percent of Gen Xers, aged 43 to 58, and 52 percent of Gen Zers, aged 18 to 26. The only generation where the credit was supported by less than half of the population was the baby boomers, with 41 percent in support and 27 percent in opposition. Another 26 percent of baby boomers said they neither supported nor opposed the credit, and 6 percent said they didn't know.

The 2022 U.S. census shows the majority of American households with children have adults 30 to 55 years old, which could explain why millennials, in particular, are supportive of reinstating the child tax credit. At the same time, Americans who are 55 years old and above account for more than 65 percent of households without children, which could suggest why the credit is a less popular measure among baby boomers.

A 2022 working paper from the Brooking Institution found that most families used the child tax credit for routine expenses like housing (70 percent), essential items for their children (58 percent) and buying more food (56 percent). Roughly 7 in 10 recipients of the credit said the benefit helped them better manage higher prices amid inflation.

Lawmakers from both parties have been paying attention to the public's support for an extended child tax credit. Democrats have made it a key legislative priority this Congress, while some Republicans have introduced their own versions of the benefit or signaled their interest in working across the aisle on this issue.

GOP Senator Marco Rubio has proposed a bill that would bring the credit up to $4,500 for children under the age of 6 and $3,500 for older kids. It would also offer payments for fetuses in the womb. Parents would be allowed to apply for the credit retroactively upon birth.

"Supporting pregnant mothers and their unborn children is essential, not just because it's the right thing to do, but because America's continued strength depends on the next generation," Rubio told Newsweek in a statement. "This comprehensive legislation will provide real assistance for American parents and children in need. We need policies like these to show America that conservatives are pro-life across the board."