Arizona’s U.S. Senate debate between Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Republican candidate Kari Lake on Oct. 9 reached its zenith over abortion, a prime situation within the swing state.
Lake, who broadly helps abortion restrictions, redirected the dialog to abortion options, voicing her help for increasing the kid tax credit score. Gallego raised questions on her file.
Gallego mentioned that Lake opposed the one-year baby tax credit score growth within the Democratic-backed American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
“We must always ensure we proceed with among the nice work we did with the kid tax credit score that introduced childhood poverty down by 60% which, by the way in which, Kari Lake was towards when the invoice was on the ground,” Gallego mentioned.
The declare is deceptive. Lake opposed the American Rescue Plan, however she didn’t single out the kid tax credit score growth.
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The federal baby tax credit score reduces tax legal responsibility for households with youngsters, and the American Rescue Plan elevated the claimable quantity in 2021 from $2,000 per baby age 16 or youthful to $3,600 per baby youthful than 6 and as much as $3,000 for youngsters age 6 to 17. The credit score was additionally totally refundable, that means low-income households certified no matter how a lot they earned in family revenue, in line with the Tax Coverage Middle. The tax credit score expired in December 2021.
We didn’t discover proof that Lake spoke out towards the credit score or the invoice because the invoice was being thought-about. Lawmakers mentioned the invoice on the Home flooring March 10, 2021; we didn’t discover Lake criticizing the invoice round that point in our seek for public statements and her social media accounts. Lake stepped down from her TV anchor place March 2, 2021, and introduced her run for governor of Arizona in June.
After we requested the Gallego marketing campaign for proof, a spokesperson pointed to Lake’s Sept. 25 housing press convention and a 2022 interview the place she criticized authorities spending. She particularly talked about neither the American Rescue Plan nor its baby tax credit score growth.
In a June 2024 X submit, Lake criticized Gallego’s vote for the American Rescue Plan as a result of it despatched stimulus checks to prisoners.
Throughout the Oct. 9 debate, Lake blamed excessive residing prices on the spending package deal, saying it “really despatched us spiraling and put our financial system on life help.” PolitiFact has discovered that the American Rescue Plan probably exacerbated the file inflation of June 2022, but it surely was not the one or largest issue.
Lake has supported increasing baby tax credit to incentivize girls to hold pregnancies to time period.
In Might, Lake informed the Washington Examiner that the kid tax credit score must be sufficient to assist individuals develop households and help the U.S. delivery price. In April — after the Arizona Supreme Courtroom held a near-total abortion ban within the state that’s now not in impact — Lake’s marketing campaign launched a assertion displaying her help for “extending the kid tax credit score.” In a 2023 interview with Arizona’s Household, Lake mentioned she helps lowering tax legal responsibility for households with youngsters through “child bonuses,” citing the coverage of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
A press release to PolitiFact from the Lake marketing campaign mentioned, “We have checked round and Kari Lake has by no means criticized baby tax credit score growth. She has at all times been in help of it.”
Our ruling
Throughout the Arizona U.S. Senate debate, Gallego mentioned Lake “was towards” the kid tax credit score growth put forth by Congress within the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 “when the invoice was on the ground.”
Lake criticized elements of the American Rescue Plan, blaming the one-time spending package deal for elevating residing prices and condemning it for sending stimulus checks to prisoners. Nevertheless, she didn’t immediately criticize the kid tax credit score growth and has voiced help for lowering tax legal responsibility for households with youngsters throughout her Senate marketing campaign.
Lake additionally didn’t criticize the American Rescue Plan on March 10, the day lawmakers voted on it within the Home.
We price this declare Principally False.