Expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to low-income children!

As House and Senate negotiators finalize a tax package, I strongly urge you to demand that it include expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to low-income children. While this proposal wouldn’t go as far as the last time Congress expanded the CTC in 2021 as a part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, it is a step towards fixing the current CTC, which provides higher benefits to families earning $400,000 per year than to families earning $15,000. There are currently 19 million children who do not receive the full credit (or any credit) because their families do not make enough money. The vast majority of these families have some paid income but are still left out of the full CTC. As reported, the proposed CTC expansion will reach 80% of those currently not getting the full CTC―and lift about 400,000 children above the federal poverty line. This would be an important―albeit incremental and temporary―step to shift tax policies and reduce poverty. When the Child Tax Credit was expanded in 2021, child poverty fell by 46%, lifting 716,000 Black children, 820,000 white children, and 1.2 million Hispanic children out of poverty in just one year―a stunning achievement. When Congress let the expanded CTC expire at the end of 2021, all of the gains made were wiped out. Children out of poverty have better school performance, better health outcomes, and are more mentally and emotionally well-adjusted. Ensuring that the full Child Tax Credit reaches the lowest-income children who need it most will have immeasurable benefits to families and our society for generations to come. As your constituent, I am strongly urging you to expand the Child Tax Credit in upcoming legislation, and to oppose any tax package that does not include a significant CTC expansion targeted to help low-income families―and then work to enact permanent tax policy changes to bring the full credit to all families with low incomes. Thanks!