WASHINGTON -- A prolonged government shutdown could deliver a blow to many poor American families by limiting or delaying access to the federal government's largest anti-poverty program, the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Last year, 26 million families received about $59 billion from the EITC, according to the Treasury Department. While a broad majority of recipients may be unaffected by a possible government shutdown, which at the earliest could come little over a week from this year's April 18 deadline for individual tax returns, the sheer scope of EITC recipients means a vast number of households can still be hurt by any problems with poverty-relief payments. Such pain could throw a wrench into federal efforts to fight poverty during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
