Democrats working on legislation to provide $3,000 payments per child amid pandemic

Currently, 27 million children live in low-income families who receive a partial or no tax credit because they earn too little, according to the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

A one-year expansion would cost about $120 billion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-partisan fiscal watchdog.

The President's proposal also includes an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit to more low-income workers, along with $1,400 stimulus checks, increased unemployment, nutrition and housing aid, among other measures.

"All told, the American Rescue Plan would lift 12 million Americans out of poverty and cut child poverty in half.

That's 5 million children lifted out of poverty," Biden said Friday before signing two executive orders that would augment nutrition assistance and strengthen federal worker protections.

Biden also noted that the proposal would reduce poverty among Black families by one third and among Hispanic households by almost 40%.

The American Rescue Plan would augment many of the measures in Congress' historic $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill from March and in the $900 billion legislation from December, which was scaled back to garner support from Senate Republicans.

CNN has reported that Biden's stimulus proposal already faces Republican objections, and Senate Democrats have been laying the groundwork to use a rare procedural tactic known as reconciliation to pass major parts of the package if Republicans stall their efforts.

The White House has urged patience when it comes to negotiating and passing the stimulus plan on a bipartisan basis through the regular Senate process, but Biden's team has said they aren't willing to "take any tools off the table."

The current child tax credit provides up to $2,000 per child under the age of 17.

The credit phases out for single parents with a modified adjusted gross income over $200,000, and $400,000 for married couples.