Tell the U.S. Senate to Pass Build Back Better NOW!
[ [link removed] ]Take Action Now
[ [link removed] ]TAKE ACTION

Dear Friend,

January 15th came and went – and for the first time since last summer,
American families missed their monthly Child Tax Credit payment because
the U.S. Senate failed to be able to pass the Build Back Better Act in
time. Meanwhile, Omicron rages across the country and families are feeling
left behind at the very time when we need help the most.

[ [link removed] ]—> Tell the U.S. Senate: The Child Tax Credit payment to American
families is now past due!  We are counting on you to pass Build Back
Better immediately to restore monthly payments to families, pass paid
family and medical leave, and boost child care that helps children and
families thrive!

There is no time to waste. Families have already missed one monthly Child
Tax Credit payment that we have come to count on to weather this pandemic,
boost businesses, and raise our families. We can’t let another month go by
without better policies that really meet the needs of children and
families across our country. [ [link removed] ]Tell Congress: Time’s up! Pass Build Back
Better today!

Together we are a powerful voice for families,

Lauren

______________

Dear Friend,

Like many others, my 2022 is off to a rocky start. I am writing this as I
scramble to find a COVID-19 test appointment for my feverish two-year-old
and my son is home with his school closed. 

I know I am far from alone. Families need a lifeline, but just when we
need help the most, the U.S. Senate failed to act before the new year to
extend the monthly Child Tax Credit payments and pass key policies like
paid family and medical leave and child care that would have helped
families, businesses, and our economy weather this COVID-19 surge. 

It’s a new year and Senators, we need new action  – time to get to work
for the American people! [ [link removed] ]Join us in telling the U.S. Senate to vote YES
and pass the Build Back Better Act which will save the Child Tax Credit,
pass paid family and medical leave, and boost child care that helps
children and families thrive!

Families cannot afford to wait a minute longer. Businesses cannot afford
to wait any longer. Our nation cannot afford to wait any longer.  

Omicron is wreaking havoc on families and in communities across the
country – child care providers continue to be on the frontlines as they
care for children who lack access to an approved COVID-19 vaccine and face
historic staffing shortages as Omicron rages. This is happening at the
same time that forced closures continue in child care settings, impacting
parents and families health and ability to get to work. After all, we all
know it can be next to impossible to be at work without access to child
care – and also that child care providers need protections too. When you
add the lack of paid leave to help ensure families can take care when sick
and not lose critical income while isolating, it’s a MESS.

And just as families need support the most, the monthly Child Tax Credit
(CTC) payments ENDED in December because Democratic Senator Joe Manchin
and the Republican Senators refused to pass Build Back Better, which would
have extended it. With Omicron raging, it's more important than ever to
pass the Build Back Better Act to extend the CTC, advance affordable child
care and free Pre-K, guarantee paid family and medical leave, make
home-and community-based services for the elderly and those with
disabilities more affordable, pay care workers living wages and create
good care jobs, lower the cost of insulin and other prescription drugs,
make healthcare more affordable, and more.  

Moreover, studies show the Build Back Better Act will be good for business
and lower inflation by making sure that workers have the access to the
child care, elder care, and paid family and medical leave they need to
stay in their jobs, which will improve the supply chain issues that are
causing inflation. 

[ [link removed] ]→ Tell the Senate to stand with families and vote YES for the Build
Back Better Act.

Here’s what’s going on: Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, signed by
President Biden in March, most families have been receiving monthly
payments to help raise their kids in the form of the Child Tax Credit. How
much money? For every child under the age of 6 families should have been
receiving  $300/month and for each child ages 6-17 families should have
been receiving $250/month. Plus, now those of us who made little or no
income in the past year have still been able to get the CTC! [1] That’s
some serious cash that has already done some serious good in helping our
families make ends meet during this difficult time. And we’ve already seen
in just a few months that these checks are reducing hunger and poverty for
families across the country. [2]  In fact, 2021 poverty rates are
projected to fall to the lowest figures on record [3]  – and this is
particularly amazing given we are in the middle of a pandemic!

And there’s more: Building off President Biden’s Build Back Better plan,
the U.S. House of Representatives passed a plan to extend the expanded CTC
and ensure that low income families will ALWAYS have access to the
benefit. It also includes key provisions like paid family and medical
leave and affordable child care – all of which would be a lifeline to
parents and families who are facing a particularly contagious variant of
the COVID-19. BUT Senator Joe Manchin and Senate Republicans failed to act
and locked families out of their monthly Child Tax Credit payments and
critical policies that support families in good times and pandemic times,
like paid family and medical leave and affordable child care and elder
care. 

Because the Senate failed to act, all the great improvements to the Child
Tax Credit are going away, sending millions of children and families back
into poverty, disproportionately impacting families of color. Moreover,
failing to extend the CTC raises costs for families at a time when the
U.S. and the world is fighting the super contagious Omicron valiant and
inflationary pressures due to supply chain issues. [4]  It’s clear: [ [link removed] ]The
CTC expansion needs to be restored and we need to enact pro-family and
pro-business policies like paid family and medical leave and affordable
child care to lower family costs and weather this pandemic. 

*We need your help to speak out! Please use your voice and sign our letter
calling on the U.S. Senate to get back to work and restore the expanded
Child Tax Credit by immediately passing the Build Back Better Act. And
while we are at it, let them hear loud and clear that children and
families need investments in the full suite of programs that allow
families to thrive: paid family and medical leave, child care, lower drug
prices and healthcare, home- and community-based services, and a pathway
to citizenship.

Families have been rising to demand the change we deserve and Congress
needs to step up and do their jobs for families across the country. We
won’t let Congress revoke the single largest reduction for child poverty –
we demand they take action today! 

[ [link removed] ]Don’t forget to sign on to tell Congress to pass Build Back Better to
ensure a better future for our children and families!

Thank you for being a powerful voice for children and families,

-Lauren, Ruth, Nina, Hanna, Kristin, Donna, and the whole
MomsRising.org/MamásConPoder Team

 

References:

[1] [ [link removed] ]MomsRising’s Child Tax Credit page

[2] [ [link removed] ]Forbes. “How Monthly Child Tax Payments are impacting Americans’
Finances.”

[3] [ [link removed] ]Vox. "The Big Drop in American Poverty During the Pandemic,
Explained."

[4] [ [link removed] ]Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. "If Congress Fails to
Act, Monthly CTC Payments Will Stop, Reductions to Child Poverty Will Be
Lost."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ [link removed] ]Vote     [ [link removed] ]Facebook     [ [link removed] ]Twitter     [ [link removed] ]Radio     [ [link removed] ]Donate     

[ [link removed] ]Register to vote! / [ [link removed] ]¡Regístrese para votar!

[ [link removed] ]Join our Spanish language community, MamásConPoder.org

What should MomsRising tackle next? [ [link removed] ]Tell us!



You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]