OHHH, so the tax law ALWAYS [at least for 20 years] called a portion of the child tax credit as REFUNDABLE, as I'd never noticed that??
The congressman in Florida who got the "refundable" portion raised from $1,100 to $1,400 had also wanted/tried to get it to be FULLY refundable without requiring anyone to have ANY earned income, but he was rebuffed by his colleagues.