Keep the phones ringing in Congress

2 MIN READ
Photo by Joseph Molieri/Bread for the World

By Jennifer Gonzalez

The phones are ringing off the hook in Congress. And that’s a great thing. You are all calling your members of Congress and telling them to make permanent the expiring earned-income tax credit (EITC) and child tax credit (CTC) provisions.

But we still need your help. Key negotiations are taking place right now, and ALL members of Congress, regardless of their party, need to hear this message! Working families deserve something they can count on for the long-term.

PLEASE call (800/826-3688) or email your U.S. representative and your U.S. senators. Urge Congress to make the expiring EITC and CTC provisions permanent before leaving for Christmas.

“The earned-income tax credit and child tax credit are two of the nation’s most effective anti-poverty programs. They ensure low-income working families have the resources they need to put food on the table and provide for their children,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. “Congress should make the expiring EITC and CTC provisions permanent this year.  A short-term tax deal that pushes this off until 2017 is a risk we can’t afford to take.”

Beside Social Security, the EITC and CTC together lift more people out of poverty than any other program in the United States. Making the EITC and CTC expiring provisions permanent would prevent 16 million Americans from falling into or deeper into poverty. 

PLEASE call (800/826-3688) or email your U.S. representative and your U.S. senators. Urge Congress to make the expiring EITC and CTC provisions permanent this year. 

Jennifer Gonzalez is the associate online editor at Bread for the World.

Photo: Nate Gordon shops for his family in Cincinnati, Ohio. Joseph Molieri/Bread for the World.

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