John,

The House has passed the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act and it now goes to the Senate for a vote. Advocates insisted that no corporate tax breaks be passed without including Child Tax Credit (CTC) improvements to help families―and the expansion of the CTC for lower-income families is included.

We’re strongly urging the Senate to move this bipartisan tax package ahead ASAP, so it can take effect this tax season.  

This bill would 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

These improvements do not go as far as they should, and the organizations that make up the Coalition on Human Needs pledge to continue to advocate to expand the CTC further to help the very poorest children. But this bill, offering much needed income to about 16 million children in families struggling to meet basic needs, is a very important step that Congress must take.

This bill is far from guaranteed in the Senate. Rush a donation today to power our advocacy and urge the Senate to vote to expand the Child Tax Credit ASAP.

A mother with two children earning $15,000 a year should not receive less help from the Child Tax Credit than a similar family earning $300,000 a year. Under current law, the family with $15,000 in earnings receives only $1,875, while the higher income family receives $4,000. If the Senate passes the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, the $15,000-earning family would see their CTC rise to $3,600 for tax year 2023. By 2025, their benefit would equal that of the wealthier family.  

More than one in five children under the age of 17 will benefit in the first year of this legislation.² More than 1 in 3 Black and Latino children, and 3 in 10 American Indian/Alaska Native children will benefit from the bill because―due to centuries of racial and ethnic discrimination in employment and housing―their parents are more likely to be in low-paid jobs.

Congress must invest in our children now. The future of our country depends on them.

Rush a donation today to power our advocacy and keep the pressure on the Senate to pass the expanded CTC now.

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately:

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 About 16 Million Children in Low-Income Families Would Gain in First Year of Bipartisan Child Tax Credit Expansion