John,

The bipartisan tax package including the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) is currently in the Senate and some right-wing lawmakers want to make low-income families suffer even more.

One provision they want to remove is the “lookback”: a change that would allow families to choose whether to use the current year or a previous year’s income to determine how much of the CTC they should receive during tax time.

This provision is critically important because parents in low-income families―particularly low-income families of color―are more likely to have jobs that pay hourly and vary wildly in the amount of hours worked. It’s very easy to go from having 30+ hours one week, to having half that the following week and not having any control over your work schedule―and for families with new children, there can be even more changes in income. The “lookback” provision allows families to receive a greater amount from the CTC to help supplement lost or unreliable income.

The obstacle to this provision lies in the utterly false belief that it would incentivize parents to stop working. This is preposterous. Parents who need their earnings to pay rent and buy food every month will not wilfully cease work because they’ll get a somewhat bigger tax credit months later. Recognizing that, Congress’ bipartisan Joint Tax Committee estimated no discernable work disincentive from the lookback provision.¹

We’re fighting back against these bad amendments that seek to undermine the expanded Child Tax Credit and need your support. Donate $5 today so that parents and children aren’t penalized for a decline in their income.

Another provision some extremists want to add would deny the expanded CTC to families whose parent doesn’t have a Social Security number―even if the child was born in the United States and has a Social Security number themselves. The results of this provision being added would be devastating considering that more than 4 million children in the U.S. have at least one undocumented parent.²

The improvements in the House-passed tax bill would provide help to 16 million children, and would lift 500,000 out of poverty when it’s fully phased in in 2025.³ That’s a meaningful step forward, and Congress should under no circumstances reduce the impact of the CTC.

We can’t allow prejudice and xenophobia against working and immigrant families to prevent millions of children from receiving the support they need.

Donate $5 today so we can continue the fight to keep the expanded Child Tax Credit as-is in the bipartisan tax package and get families the help they need.

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Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ Macroeconomic Analysis Of H.R. 7024, The "Tax Relief For American Families And Workers Act of 2024," As Ordered Reported By The Committee on Ways And Means, On January 19, 2024
² Migration Policy Institute
³ Bipartisan Child Tax Credit Expansion Would Benefit Millions of Workers in Low-Paid Occupations