Child Tax Credit Payments December 2021: Will Government Shutdown Affect Sending of Money?

Lawmakers are still in a debate about a possible government shutdown, but Americans should prepare for the worse. Fortunately, the Child Tax Credit payments might not be impacted by this issue because the IRS has prepared a contingency plan ahead of time.

Since September, lawmakers have argued about implementing a government shutdown due to a lapse in funding. If it passes, nonessential government offices will close until the funding legislation is passed. This brought a question to many Americans, has the government also used up all its funding for financial aid programs like Child Tax Credit?

Depending on the program, and whether or not it has an allocated budget, its payments might continue throughout the shutdown period.

Will a Government Shutdown Affect Sending of Money?

Note that the situation is still progressing, and lawmakers have yet to impose the government shutdown policy. Members in Congress and Senate shared their thoughts on the topic with Reuters.

A few hardline conservative Senate Republicans including, Mike Lee, Roger Marshall, Ron Johnson, and Ted Cruz, want to block the federal money for Biden's vaccine mandates. They said the president's program might put U.S. jobs at risk. With regards to the government shutdown, Cruz said "we should use the leverage we have to fight against what are illegal, unconstitutional and abusive mandates."

However, others are a lot more critical of this movement. Senator Kevin Cramer said he and his fellow Republicans are not in favor of the government shutdown. He said, "what's the outcome that you achieve? The government shuts down and you still don't have a vaccination mandate lifted."

The House hoped to finish voting by Wednesday on the funding resolution, but negotiations remained stalled over disagreements and issues. It is hard to determine when these lawmakers would finally reach their conclusion.

Child Tax Credit Payments December 2021

However, even if the government shutdown succeeds, the Child Tax Credit payments for December might not be impacted.

According to AS, IRS published a contingency plan for the program. It is also important to note that Child Tax Credit was appropriated under American Rescue Plan, so it is not supposed to run out of budget after this fiscal year. In fact, it should have enough budget ready for the other payments to be made for 2022.

Government shutdown, according to Investopedia, only applies to nonessential US government offices. Some agencies will remain open, especially when their services are related to the health, life, and personal safety of the public. Child Tax Credit is arguably one program that falls under essential agencies.

It is undeniable that it helped millions of families and children fight against poverty. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen even calls it "a profound economic and moral victory," in a clip tweeted by The Recount.

Americans are recommended to stay alert for other breaking news that might come out from lawmakers anytime in the coming days.