|
John,
The House just passed the bipartisan Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act―the tax package that includes an expanded Child Tax Credit―and now it’s on to the Senate. While this expanded tax credit is less robust than the one passed in 2021, it will increase the Child Tax Credit for 80% of low-income families who do not currently receive the full credit. It would lift 400,000 children out of poverty in tax year 2023, rising to 500,000 above the poverty line in 2025.1 We need to build on the overwhelming (357-70) vote in the House to get this passed in the Senate.2
This is why we’re joining our coalition partners in this critical day of action to call our Senators and urge them to pass this legislation immediately, so that it can take effect this tax season.
Call your Senators today at 202-224-3121 and tell them to support low-income families with children by expanding the Child Tax Credit ASAP!
Calling is easy―and it’s very important.
[Don’t remember your senators’ names? The Capitol Switchboard operator will tell you and then connect you directly.]
We’ve provided a suggested call script below to help with your call.
Suggested call script:
“Hello, my name is ___ and I live in ____. I am urging the senator to vote for the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, which expands the Child Tax Credit to provide more help to families with low incomes and lifts 400,000 children out of poverty. This expansion of the Child Tax Credit does not go as far as I’d like, but would be an important and immediate step towards reducing child poverty and increasing income for families who are facing hardships. Please oppose any amendments that would reduce the CTC’s help to children.
“Please share my thoughts with the Senator and urge them to actively support the bipartisan tax package so it can take effect for families filing this tax season. Thank you.”
Once you’ve called one of your senators, then call the other―they need to hear loud and clear from you! And if your family benefited from the expanded Child Tax Credit or does now, share your story for an even bigger impact.
When the expanded Child Tax Credit went into effect in 2021, it cut child poverty by 46%.3 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. We see this legislation as a step to help families struggling to meet basic needs; it is likely our best opportunity this year to boost the incomes of millions of families and reduce child poverty.
Additional information4:
-
Research shows that most low-income families spent the 2021 expanded CTC on basic necessities like food, utilities, and rent or mortgage payments, as well as school expenses.
-
The Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy found no evidence that the expanded Child Tax Credit leads to parents exiting the workforce.
-
Research shows that the more the CTC expands, the greater impact it has on reducing poverty rates for Black and Latino children to help close racial poverty gaps.
Poverty is a policy choice, not an inevitability. This investment in some of our nation’s most vulnerable children will have positive effects on families today and for generations to come.
If you can, please donate to power our campaign to expand the Child Tax Credit today, and then keep fighting tomorrow for even stronger investments in families with low incomes.
DONATE
Thank you for all you do,
Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs
1 Reported Proposal to Expand Child Tax Credit Would Lift as Many as 400,000 Children Above the Poverty Line
2 Roll Call 30 | Bill Number: H. R. 7024
3 Child poverty increases sharply following expiration of expanded tax credit
4 Research Roundup of the Expanded Child Tax Credit: One Year On
|
