Washington, D.C. — The Census Bureau released its annual report, showing that childhood poverty more than doubled last year. Its findings reveal an almost 140 percent increase in a single year. Five million new American children now live in poverty. Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet released the following statement:

“The United States is the wealthiest country in the world, and we have failed our most vulnerable children. Ninety percent of Colorado kids felt what it was like to have enough food on the table, bikes to ride, and school supplies in their backpacks because of the expanded Child Tax Credit. 

“Congress plunged five million new kids into poverty when we refused to extend the Child Tax Credit for American families. These tax cuts were a lifeline to working people and we must restore the Child Tax Credit and make it permanent.” 

Background:

Bennet has long led the fight to eliminate child poverty and has been a tireless advocate for expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC). In 2021, Bennet worked with the Biden Administration to enact a one-year expansion of the Child Tax Credit – based on his American Family Act – in the American Rescue Plan that President Joe Biden signed into law. This expansion cut child poverty nearly in half and hunger for families by a quarter in 2021. It also benefited 90 percent of Colorado children and helped lift nearly 3 million children out of poverty nationwide.