John,

Congress needs to hear from us. As they’re negotiating the details of a potential December or January tax package, we need to be loud and clear that it must prioritize the lowest-income households.

A recent poll by the Associated Press shows that 2 in 3 Americans say their household expenses have increased from last year, but only 1 in 4 say that their wages have increased.¹

Back in 2021, the additional $250 and $300 per month, per child that Congress provided families through the expanded Child Tax Credit was a lifeline for millions and allowed many to keep their heads above water. In the one year that the expanded Child Tax Credit was in effect, there were 716,000 fewer Black children, 1.2 million fewer Hispanic children, and 820,000 fewer white children in poverty.²

As Congress moves to wrap things up before New Years, it’s imperative that they hear from us, loud and clear, to put children over corporations and expand the Child Tax Credit to reach the lowest-income households.

Write to Congress: Prioritize the cash flow of struggling families over wealthy corporations. Don’t pass corporate tax breaks without expanding the Child Tax Credit.

Thank you for all you do,

Meredith Dodson
Senior Director of Public Policy, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ Many Americans say they're spending more than they earn, dimming their financial outlooks, poll shows
² Expansions to Child Tax Credit Contributed to 46% Decline in Child Poverty Since 2020

-- DEBORAH'S EMAIL --

John,

In 2021, families received monthly checks of between $250 and $300 per child, assisting 36 million families across the country. But, because of obstruction in the U.S. Senate, those monthly checks were not renewed in 2022, plunging 3.7 million children back into poverty.

Recently, 146 House Republicans sent a letter to the Speaker of the House, Rep. Mike Johnson, demanding a vote on a corporate tax package by the end of this year.¹ Corporate lobbyists are working overtime to get these tax handouts to billion-dollar corporations so they can further enrich CEOs and wealthy shareholders.

But Congress has to get its priorities straight. Restoring the expanded Child Tax Credit to families with children who struggle to make ends meet should be top on Congress’ to-do list. To fight back against Wall Street’s army of high-priced lobbyists, we’re showing the power of our grassroots movement for change—community members, concerned citizens, and voters who care deeply about children and their families and want to see their tax dollars used to help the most vulnerable in our society, not pad the pockets of wealthy CEOs.

Send a message directly to your members of Congress today, encouraging them to prioritize an expansion of the Child Tax Credit in any upcoming tax package and make sure it reaches the lowest-income households.

The tax package that is being pushed by corporate lobbyists and some members of Congress ultimately would cost U.S. taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars in lost revenue. That’s money that can be used to fully fund critical programs like child care, housing assistance, essential nutrition programs, and expand access to health care.

The biggest provision in the tax package that corporations want is the reinstatement of the bonus depreciation rule that allowed corporations to write off 100% of their eligible costs each year. When this rule was in effect from 2018-2022, 12 of the biggest corporate beneficiaries gained $43 billion in tax savings. During that same time they raked in $1 trillion in pre-tax profits while paying an effective federal tax rate of just 11.6%—far lower than the statutory corporate tax rate of 21%.

Instead of investing those windfall tax breaks in workers’ wages, the bulk of that money went to executive compensation, stock buybacks, and dividend payments. If Congress makes the bonus depreciation rule permanent, the American public would lose out on $325 billion in revenue over the next decade.²

Children are our future and investing in them now means continued prosperity for generations to come. The expanded Child Tax Credit helped cut child poverty in the U.S. by 46%. But that historic progress was reversed when Congress let the CTC expansion expire. Keeping children out of poverty means better school performance, better health outcomes, and more mentally and emotionally well-adjusted children.

If Congress can afford to give billions of dollars in tax giveaways to large corporations, they can afford to invest in our children and restore the expanded Child Tax Credit.

Our children deserve it.

Write to your members of Congress today and tell them to include an expanded Child Tax Credit in any December or January tax package.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ Yakym Leads Nearly 150 Members of Congress in Encouraging Pro-Growth Tax Legislation
² BONUS DEPRECIATION TAX HANDOUT MEANS MORE EXECUTIVE PAYOUTS & STOCK BUYBACKS FOR MEGA-CORPORATIONS