As child poverty grows, lawmakers must prioritize tax relief for low-income families.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Washington, D.C. are pushing for an expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC), with hopes that it will be included in a wider tax package by the end of this year. An expanded version of the Child Tax Credit helped cut child poverty nearly in half over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, but those gains have largely been lost since the expansion expired at the end of 2021.
Emerging statistics and stories of ministry unveil alarming experiences. New data from the Department of Agriculture suggests that 3.5 million families fell into food insecurity from 2021 to 2022 – raising the total to more than 44 million people nationwide. Congregations, Lutheran hunger leaders and food pantries from many synods tell of volunteer exhaustion, increased demand for services and an urgency to address rising child hunger in our communities. With inflation, food prices and childcare costs continuing to climb, tax relief for low- and middle-income families would go a long way in supporting those of us who are hungry and our ministries serving those of us in the greatest need.
As negotiations are underway, many lawmakers remain on the fence over core issues, such as: making the credit available to as many low-income families as possible, expanding eligibility to families where a grandparent might be the primary caregiver, and ensuring benefits are received by all qualifying children regardless of their parents’ immigration status. Lawmakers in Congress need to hear that an expanded Child Tax Credit is an urgently needed priority – and that child poverty is a profound concern for people of faith.
For further details on various bipartisan proposals for CTC expansion, read: https://www.niskanencenter.org/bipartisan-reform-options-for-the-child-tax-credit/
Today, tell your legislators that families should be able to afford the costs of raising a child in the modern economy, and that your lawmaker should champion an expansion of the Child Tax Credit before the end of this year. Use your experiences, convictions and ministry activities to customize the following letter.
Thank you for your advocacy.
POSTED: 11/9/2023
