John,

We live in the wealthiest country in the world, yet 63% of U.S. residents live paycheck to paycheck. Many of our neighbors are struggling to put food on the table and are rationing their medication.

Nearly half of us don’t have enough cash to cover a $400 emergency expense. That means a rent increase, medical bill, childcare payment, tuition check, or even a blown tire could push more of our neighbors into extreme financial distress or even homelessness.

The status quo is unacceptable, and we can change it. Poverty is due to policy choices. I’m pushing for transformative legislation that our communities urgently need. But in order to pass these policies, we need much more Democratic support for bold solutions that meet the scale of our problems now.

So I’m joining Justice Democrats to push Democrats to truly be the party of the working class.

Please sign our petition if you agree: Democrats in Congress and the Biden administration must do more to end poverty and ensure that working class communities can thrive.

In my home state of Michigan, 1 in 5 children live in poverty.

In 2021, Congress passed a temporarily expanded Child Tax Credit, providing between $250-$300 per month per child for families with young children. A critical lifeline for many families, the expanded Child Tax Credit cut child poverty by 40%. But corporate Democrats and Republicans let it expire.

So I introduced the End Child Poverty Act, which would replace the Child Tax Credit and cover every child in the United States, including the lowest-wealth families who are traditionally left out of the tax credit system—because, ironically, they earn too little.

The End Child Poverty Act would cut child poverty by 70% by providing families with a universal benefit of nearly $400 per month per child, from children’s birth until their 19th birthday. Since each child would be automatically enrolled at birth when they apply for their Social Security Number, there would be no need for annual paperwork.

When the federal government gave people occasional one-time payments during the pandemic, it had a huge impact in people's lives, in my community and across the country. But one-time payments are not enough.

To address our country’s economic crisis, we must urgently pass legislation that puts money directly back into people's pockets on a monthly basis.

I’ve introduced multiple bills to do just that, including the Building Our Opportunities to Survive and Thrive (BOOST) Act. If passed, the bill would provide people with recurring, monthly cash payments of up to $250 per month for individuals (who earn under $50,000 in a year) and up to $500 per month for married couples (if they make under $100,000 in a year).

In addition to transformative anti-poverty policies like this, we need federal action to eliminate debt—from education debt to medical debt to utility debt and more.

We can pay for these changes by making the rich and corporations pay their fair share, by re-allocating money in the federal budget (i.e. from the Pentagon), and through my team’s innovative plan to #MintTheCoin.

But we’ll only pass these transformative policy changes through Congress if more Democrats push for the meaningful changes our communities desperately need. We need massive Democratic support for bold, meaningful bills that invest directly in our communities and meet the scale of our problems now. This is about living our values.

Please join me and Justice Democrats and sign our petition demanding Democrats do more to end poverty.

In solidarity,

Rashida