There's still time to urge your legislators to prioritize families of color in the 2022 budget
No images? Click here
Our economy should provide opportunities for everyone to get ahead, not just the wealthy few. Remarkably, we find ourselves with a historic chance to move closer to this goal, significantly address racial equity and work to close the wealth gap for long-term economic resilience.
Congress is currently putting together critical legislative packages with the potential to make housing more affordable, help people start and grow businesses, and ensure the families and the most marginalized individuals have the resources they need. We need your help to ensure robust investments in families of color are included in the final budget reconciliation package.
The deadline for Committees to submit spending legislation is September 15, 2021, with many Committees looking to move faster.
This means we still have time to act, but we must act quickly!
The policies below will build a more inclusive and equitable economy. Please use the links provided to send a pre-drafted email to your Members of Congress urging them to include these priorities in the final version of the legislation.
Please take action on one or all of these issues TODAY!💥💥💥
Build and Preserve Affordable Housing
Prosperity Now recognizes the critical need for investment in affordable housing and urges Congress to maintain robust funding at the current $332 billion proposed to build and preserve affordable housing, reduce rental burdens, revitalize communities, house the homeless, and create opportunities for more families to become homeowners.
In particular, Prosperity Now urges partners to support the full funding at $332 billion to support critical programs, including the National Housing Trust Fund, public housing, rental assistance, HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, Housing Choice Voucher program, grants for zoning and land use improvements, the Capital Magnet Fund, and first-generation homeowner downpayment assistance.
Make the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit Expansions Permanent
While Prosperity Now commends Congress for including a four-year extension in the 2022 budget resolution, we know that is not enough for our low-income families and households of color. A permanent extension of the CTC and the EITC could help families access necessary resources for housing, food and other basic needs. The expansion of the CTC has already extended eligibility to 23 million children—disproportionately Black and Latinx children—who previously did not qualify because their families made too little. We write to urge that these expansions—which support low- and moderate-income families of color—be made permanent and include all children.
End the Wealth Divide for the Next Generation
We need your help to include the American Opportunity Accounts Act in the reconciliation package that Congress is currently considering. The American Opportunity Accounts Act seeks to provide every child with a “Baby Bond”—a meaningful birthright investment that would ensure that every young adult starts their life with a significant nest egg to build assets and wealth over a lifetime. Currently, White families have eight times the net worth of Black families and five times the wealth of Latinx families in the United States. An investment of this magnitude is essential to addressing the racial wealth divide.
Invest in Businesses of Color to Secure an Inclusive Economy
Small businesses are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy, yet entrepreneurs of color have always had a harder time starting and investing in businesses than their White counterparts. They have also faced greater challenges keeping their doors open during COVID. If our current leadership is serious about addressing racial inequity and building our economy, they will make sure small business programs receive the $25 billion allocated to them by the Senate and $17.5 billion in the House in the reconciliation package and will take steps to ensure that businesses of color receive their fair share of the support.
What our country spends money on should reflect what the people who live here value. If we as a country are committed to closing the growing racial wealth divide and building generational wealth among historically underserved populations, we need to take advantage of this rare and exciting opportunity. Thank you for joining this call to action. For additional questions about the budget resolution package, please contact us at [email protected].
