Manchin Privately Voiced Concerns Parents Would Use Child Tax Credit To Score Drugs

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., privately voiced concerns to his fellow Democratic senators that parents receiving the child tax credit would use the money to buy drugs. Manchin also speculated Americans would abuse paid leave to go hunting during deer season.

"My Democratic colleagues in Washington are determined to dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face," Manchin said publicly about his stance regarding Build Back Better.

Privately, Joe Manchin has told colleagues that he thought parents would waste child tax credit payments on drugs.

Manchin's comments shocked several senators, who saw it as an unfair assault on his own constituents and those raising children in poverty.https://t.co/LkEbmq7W5K
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 20, 2021

"I cannot take that risk with a staggering debt of more than $29 trillion and inflation taxes that are real and harmful to every hard-working American at the gasoline pumps, grocery stores and utility bills with no end in sight," Manchin added.

Manchin said in a Sunday interview with Fox News he was going to be a “No” vote on President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan that aims to expand the social safety net and combat climate change.

The expanded child tax credit is among the more popular provisions in the bill which gives parents $300 a month for every child under 6 and $250 for ages 6 to 17. The payments were first distributed in July and have delivered $93 billion to families in 2021, according to the Treasury Department, and have lifted millions of children out of poverty. The current child tax credit is set to expire at the end of the year.

“Senator Manchin has made clear he supports the child tax credit and believes the money should be targeted to those who need it most," a spokeswoman for Manchin said Monday. "He has also expressed support for a paid leave program that has a dedicated, sustainable funding mechanism.”

According to Columbia University, the expanded child tax credit could reduce childhood poverty by 45% as most parents said they would use the tax credit to build up emergency savings, pay for routine expenses, pay for essential items for children, purchase food or start a college fund.

If the child tax credit were to end 10 million children will fall back into poverty, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.