Action Alert: Urge Our Senators to Expand the Child Tax Credit

Back in February, we let you know that the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) had passed through the House of Representatives, and that everyone in the ELCA Advocacy Network was eager to see it progress through the Senate. We last sent out an Action Alert on 2/20 inviting you to urge Senators Sinema and Kelly to support this important piece of legislation.

Since then, the bill has gotten tied up in the Senate. Experts are still hopeful to see the expanded Child Tax Credit pass the Senate before the April 15th filing deadline. This would allow the benefits of the package to take effect right now, instead of leaving families to wait until next year.

This version of the CTC would improve the lives of more than 157,000 children in Arizona alone, and would lift nearly half a million out of poverty nationwide. Both Bread for the World and the ELCA Advocacy Office in D.C. have recently refocused attention on this critical policy. This week, we hope you will join us in encouraging our Senators to raise this bill as a priority. Read the ELCA Action Alert below.

Urge Congress to expand the Child Tax Credit

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.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Sen. Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Smith (R-MO) have introduced legislative text that would make a modest expansion of the CTC. By some estimates, if enacted, the tax package compromise would lift roughly over 400,000 children out of poverty, and increase benefits for nearly 3 million other children between now and 2025. Advocates should push lawmakers to pass this agreement as soon as possible. 

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!