A recently released Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) report found that the poverty rate declined tremendously in 2021.
According to the report, American Rescue Plan and Biden administration actions produced data reflecting 4.5 million Americans across races and ethnicities were lifted out of poverty from 2020 to 2021.
“During an economic crisis, when we would otherwise expect poverty to increase, both overall poverty and child poverty fell to record lows,” JEC Chairman Don Beyer (D-VA) said via a statement. “Democrats in Congress and in the White House passed policies that lifted 4.5 million people—including 3 million children—out of poverty. These public investments ensured workers and families could keep food on their tables and roofs over their heads.”
The report found that federal income support programs and tax credits aided nearly 53 million people in rising above the poverty line; the number of children living in poverty declined to a historic low in 2021 – attributed to a policy known as full refundability, ensuring 19 million more low-income children were made eligible for the full Child Tax Credit; and racial disparities in poverty reached an all-time low in last year, but officials acknowledged there is more to do.
“We know what works,” Beyer concluded. “Never have there been more powerful poverty-reducing policies, which offer a clear path forward for fighting poverty permanently. We must build on this success and extend these proven investments to promote prosperity for all.”