Child Poverty Rises as Congressional Aid Vanishes.
Columbia found that monthly poverty has risen beyond pre-COVID levels since Congress allowed COVID relief to expire and failed to provide additional assistance. According to Columbia, the stimulus checks and expanded unemployment benefits included in the CARES Act initially prevented a rise in poverty, keeping as many as 18 million Americans out of poverty in April and May. However, much of this progress was reversed throughout the summer after cash assistance dried up in June and the $600 weekly extra unemployment benefits expired in July. By September, the poverty reduction impact of the CARES Act had fallen dramatically and poverty rates had risen among all groups.