John,

The Senate is voting on whether to take up the bipartisan Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act today at approximately 1:45 pm ET and they need to hear from you.

This legislation includes a critical expansion of the Child Tax Credit, which would lift 400,000 children above the federal poverty line immediately, increasing to 500,000 in tax year 2025.¹ And, about 16 million children in low-income families would benefit in the first year.

This bill has already passed the U.S. House in a vote of 357-70.² Before it can pass the Senate, it must first receive 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. That means we need to reach the offices of Democratic and Republican senators alike right now.

Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected with your senators. After you’ve called one senator, call back and ask to be connected to the other.

Here’s a suggested call script for your use, but feel free to personalize to have an even greater impact:

More than 1 in 3 Black and Latino children and 3 in 10 American Indian/Alaska Native children under 17 will benefit from this bill as their parents disproportionately work for low wages. So will approximately 1 in 7 white and Asian children under 17.³

Under the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, a single parent who earns $15,000 per year and has a toddler and a child in elementary school would see their child tax credit increase by $1,725—from the current $1,875 to $3,600.⁴

When the expanded Child Tax Credit went into effect in 2021, it cut child poverty by 46%.⁵ 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 gains in future income.

While this version of the expanded CTC does not go as far as we would like, it is still a critical step forward in reducing child poverty and helping millions of families to meet basic needs. We cannot allow a minority of Senators to block this bill – and your voice is needed today to tell Congress to provide needed help for 16 million children in families with low wages.

Research from the Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy showed 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.⁶ An expanded CTC can provide assistance to millions of families facing continued higher costs for food and housing along with other economic challenges.

After you call your senators, donate to power our campaign to pass the expanded Child Tax Credit this year.

Thank you for all that you do to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty.

Meredith Dodson
Senior Director of Public Policy, 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 About 16 Million Children in Low-Income Families Would Gain in First Year of Bipartisan Child Tax Credit Expansion
⁴ Reported Proposal to Expand Child Tax Credit Would Lift as Many as 400,000 Children Above the Poverty Line
⁵ Child poverty increases sharply following expiration of expanded tax credit
⁶ Research Roundup of the Expanded Child Tax Credit: One Year On