Tell the Senate: Expand the Child Tax Credit now and reject attacks on low-income families
Cynical Senators are playing politics with the Child Tax Credit―and with the lives of millions of families with young children.
Some members of the Senate are lining up to block a tax package that will benefit 16 million children in lower-income families via an expanded CTC, despite a broad bipartisan House vote. Why? For some, the answer is simple: pure politics.
Expanding the Child Tax Credit is popular and is proven to dramatically reduce child poverty levels. So why are some members of the Senate trying so hard to stop the Senate from moving forward on this bipartisan package, and kill the CTC with poison pill amendments? Maybe because they think they can get a bill with more corporate tax breaks and a weaker CTC in the next Congress. Or maybe they don’t want to hand President Biden a legislative victory on an issue he has consistently championed. Whatever the reason, they are denying low-income families with children a bigger refund check just as millions of families are filing their taxes. We need Congress to act by the end of April to make it easier for people to receive a higher CTC as soon as possible. That’s why we are holding Senators accountable to take up this bipartisan tax package now.
The expanded Child Tax Credit included in the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act would lift 400,000 children out of poverty in tax year 2023, rising to 500,000 above the poverty line in 2025. It would also add much needed income to about 16 millionchildren in families struggling to meet basic needs.
Click “START WRITING” to send a message to your Senators right now and urge them to reject the stalling tactics of politicians playing political games and pass the expanded Child Tax Credit for low-income families before the end of tax season. Children and families need help now!
The domestic emergency needs edition. You’ve heard some in Congress say we have an emergency along our Southern border. And yes, it is true that Republicans should join Democrats at the table and negotiate a comprehensive immigration bill – one that treats immigrants fairly, whether they are already here, or are seeking to come here due to facing political oppression or various other forms of violence at home. But as members of Congress stare down the FY 2024 appropriations process from both sides of the aisle, it is abundantly clear that we have a number of domestic human needs emergencies we must address.
With the House passage of the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, Congress is one important step closer to making needed improvements in the Child Tax Credit that will benefit 16 million children in families with low incomes and lift 400,000 children out of poverty this year. Now the Senate must act expeditiously to pass the bill, with no amendments that would reduce the Child Tax Credit’s help to children.
CHN this week urged Congress to vote for H.R. 7024, the bipartisan Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024. We urge members of Congress to actively support moving the bipartisan tax package at the first opportunity because of important changes to the Child Tax Credit (CTC). We think it is critical that the expansions to the CTC can take effect this tax season.
As we head into 2024, there is much to celebrate on the health care front. First, millions of Americans will save money on prescription drug costs in 2024 because of actions taken by President Biden and a previous Congress. And second, enrollments under the Affordable Care Act marketplaces are soaring to record numbers.
The Coalition on Human Needs supports the improvements made to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) within the bipartisan H.R. 7024, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024. We urge members of Congress to actively support moving the bipartisan tax package at the first opportunity so it can take effect this tax season, and vote for this legislation.
This week the House Budget Committee advanced legislation to create a fiscal commission – a move that many warn could fast-track cuts to Social Security and Medicare, as well as a wide swath of non-defense discretionary programs important to the human needs community. During a Thursday hearing that lasted almost four hours, it was apparent – time and again – that cuts to Social Security and Medicare are on the table.
The Child Tax Credit expansion edition. House and Senate negotiators reportedly are close to reaching a deal on expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC), although final details remain uncertain. There are at least 19 million reasons to expand the CTC – that’s the number of kids who don’t receive the full credit (or any credit at all) because their families do not earn enough money. The proposal as reported so far would improve the credit for about 80 percent of those children and lift an estimated 400,000 above the poverty line, as estimated by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The Coalition on Human Needs joined more than 1,100 local, state, and national groups in urging Congress to reject harsh cuts in federal funding and instead to push ahead to finish the FY24 appropriations process, using the bipartisan Senate funding framework as a starting point for negotiations. In a letter, the groups warned that a lengthy continuing resolution “would be disastrous for the capacity of the federal government to serve the public, assist those in need, fuel innovation, and address national and global threats.”
After many months, Congressional leaders have reaffirmed the funding levels agreed to as part of the negotiation to avoid a federal default last year. Members of the Coalition on Human Needs have waited with increasing concern that congressional failure to act would result in millions of people losing vital help, limiting their ability to afford rent, food, heat, health care, and much more. We very much hope that confirming the spending framework will result in quick steps forward to make funding decisions that meet current needs.
Some congressional critics, ultra-conservative think tanks, and certain media vehemently dispute the need for domestic funds and services. Not real emergencies, they say. For those of us committed to social justice and providing essential human services that these funds support, it’s disheartening to hear the bogus, self-righteous arguments made in opposition to our advocacy efforts.
A special note to our readers: In 2023, we avoided a number of disasters on the human needs front. There was no government shutdown. There was no default on the national debt. In most instances, we avoided debilitating cuts in government funding to the programs that so many people depend on. Right-wingers in Congress threatened massive cuts and default, but their efforts were turned back, for this year, at least.
It’s been a difficult few years for poor people in this country. Just a year after the pandemic era safety net expansion saw poverty fall to its lowest level on record, we saw a historic 60 percent increase as those programs expired. Women and children have been among the hardest hit. In 2022, the last year we have data for, at least 32 million women and children were living in poverty. Despite that hardship, I feel some hope.
