John,

Next year, Congress will debate an extension of the Trump-GOP tax package that mostly benefits the wealthy and big corporations. But what about over 18 million children whose families earn too little to receive the full Child Tax Credit? We’re demanding Congress expand the Child Tax Credit for all children by making the credit fully refundable with no earnings requirement, and allow it to provide meaningful support with regular monthly payments.

The data released yesterday reminds us that many people are facing food and housing insecurity, challenges with high child care costs, and dealing with other hardships that make it harder to make ends meet, with 13.7% of children living below the poverty line.¹ And right now, the current Child Tax Credit contains a major flaw: Families where a parent can’t work due to illness or being laid off, cannot qualify for the Child Tax Credit at all. And many parents who work at low wages cannot get the full CTC.

A single parent earning $15,000 a year and who has two children, will receive less than a family with a parent who has a higher paying job. This is a flaw that does nothing but exacerbate inequity and accelerate the racial wealth gap.

Renewing the expanded monthly Child Tax Credit payments that Congress passed in 2021, which were allowed to expire in 2022 is not only the morally right thing to do, but it’s politically popular. 85% of parents with babies and toddlers want Congress to take swift action in passing the expanded Child Tax Credit and nearly three-quarters of 800 parents surveyed said tax breaks for wealthy corporations should not be passed until Congress reinstates the monthly Child Tax Credit.² 94% of Democrats and 77% of Republicans believe passing the expanded Child Tax Credit should be a legislative priority.

Instead of cutting investments in key programs and services from nutrition to health care to housing, when Congress takes up major tax legislation next year they must pass an expanded Child Tax Credit that reaches the very poorest households.

Send a message to Congress today, urging them to expand the Child Tax Credit now.

Thank you for all you do,

Meredith Dodson
Senior Director of Public Policy, CHN Action

¹ What Could 2023 Child Poverty Rates Have Looked Like Had an Expanded Child Tax Credit Been in Place?
² New Poll Shows 85% of Parents of Babies and Toddlers Want Swift Congressional Action to Reinstate Child Tax Credit Reforms

-- DEBORAH'S EMAIL --

John,

This morning, the Census Bureau released national poverty, income, and health insurance data for 2023. It’s always important to understand income and health insurance trends, but it’s especially important now since Congress can take practical steps of proven benefit to reduce poverty and protect affordable health coverage.

The new data shows that in 2023, tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit (CTC) lifted 6.4 million people above the federal poverty line―and the CTC, 2.4 million people alone.¹ And we know for sure that when the Child Tax Credit (CTC) was expanded in 2021, child poverty decreased by 46% overall by lifting 5.3 million people above the poverty line, with Black and Hispanic/Latino child poverty falling by 6.3 percentage points in each community, impacting 716,000 Black children and 1.2 million Hispanic children.²

Then the expanded CTC was allowed to expire and child poverty skyrocketed back up. As Congress discusses major tax legislation for 2025, they must look at the latest data about poverty, hardship, and other measures for our country as a whole.

In 2023, nearly 10 million children were in poverty (9.962m), painfully higher than the 3.8 million poor children in 2021, when a powerful Child Tax Credit was helping families. There were a million more poor children in 2023 than in 2022. It is well past time for Congress to do what we know works to improve millions of children’s lives: expand the Child Tax Credit.

Write a letter to Congress urging them to pass the expanded Child Tax Credit and lift millions of children out of poverty once and for all.

The current CTC provides higher benefits to families earning $400,000 per year than to families earning $15,000. In fact, 18 million children in the U.S.―26%―are ineligible to receive the full Child Tax Credit because their families’ incomes are too low.³ Historic racism and lack of opportunity result in nearly half of Black children, along with 4 in 10 Native American/Alaska Native and more than 1 in 3 Latino children, getting less than the full credit or no CTC at all.⁴

We know that tax policies can make a difference from today’s data, and that we could be doing so much more. In the wealthiest country in the world, no child should live in poverty because their parents don’t make enough money to receive a tax credit that was created to provide financial support to low-income families.

Send a direct message to Congress demanding they pass the expanded Child Tax Credit and address child poverty now.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, CHN Action

¹ Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Statistics
² Child Poverty Fell to Record Low 5.2% in 2021
³ Children Left Behind by the Child Tax Credit in 2022
⁴ Year-End Tax Policy Priority: Expand the Child Tax Credit for the 19 Million Children Who Receive Less Than the Full Credit