Senate Democrats spent the weekend advancing what they call a historic piece of legislation, but it's still a much smaller version of what they — and President Biden — originally called for.
In one month, the child poverty rate increased from 12.1 to 17 percent, the highest rate seen since Dec. 2020. Black and Latino children experienced an even higher rate of poverty.
January is the first month since July 2021 that more than 36 million families in the U.S. did not receive money from the expanded child tax credit program. For some, the consequences are already dire.
Because the Build Back Better agenda was not passed by the Senate before the end of the year, the last payment of the expanded child tax credit program went out this month.
Climate scientists warn that emissions need to fall quickly. Those cuts will be even tougher with the Build Back Better legislation shelved for the foreseeable future.
For weeks, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had promised a vote on Biden's social and climate agenda before Christmas. But all 50 senators in caucus have not been able to unify behind the plan.
Lawmakers are juggling must-pass items, like addressing the nation's borrowing authority and an annual defense authorization package, along with major political priorities for Democrats.
On Wednesday, environmentalists and the two metro Atlanta mayors gathered at a suburban park north of Atlanta to applaud the infrastructure bill as a major step to attack the looming climate crisis. However, they said even more progress can come through Build Back Better.
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote Friday on President Joe Biden's Build Back Better plan for economic and infrastructure. The legislation would expand Georgia's social safety net by continuing the Child Tax Credit and increasing access to health care
As Democrats keep working towards a scaled-back spending bill, the Duchess of Sussex urged them not to "compromise or negotiate" over a national paid family leave program.
