It’s unclear whether Republicans would consent to full refundability, which would functionally eliminate the earnings requirement for the credit. “Some of the things they asked for, they want to go back to pandemic levels [of spending], for example, they want full refundability. Those are really hard issues, and you’re not going to get Republicans to agree to a lot of that,” Senator John Thune, the minority whip and a Republican member of the Senate Finance Committee, told me. “I think their asks have to be reasonable, and there’s going to have to be a good balance between what they’re requesting and what Republicans are going to need.”
Senator Thom Tillis, another GOP member of the Finance Committee, said that he believed Republicans and Democrats were still relatively far apart on the child tax credit. “There still seems to be a number of people on the other side of the aisle that believe the Covid-era policy should be codified. That’s just not going to happen,” said Tillis, echoing Thune. “Incidentally, even if there was support in the Senate, there’s no way that would pass the House.”
Democrats on the Finance Committee indicated that while they would prefer a return to full refundability, they accepted the reality of needing to find a compromise. “I want to get whatever we can get. And we’re going to drive as hard a bargain as we can,” said Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who has worked to expand the child tax credit, although he is not directly involved in current negotiations.