Mothers and other Caregivers Say, Our Children Are Hungry – Reinstate the Child Tax Credit Now!
Twitterstorm and Call-in Tuesday Sept 27th
11am-1pm PT / 2-4pm ET
Studies show that the majority of families used the Child Tax Credit to buy food. Reinstating the expanded refundable Child Tax Credit is needed to end hunger: Prioritize it!
As the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health convenes tomorrow – the first such conference in over 50 years – and as President Biden has pledged to end hunger and diet-related diseases by 2030, it’s urgent to call on elected officials to make reinstating the expanded Child Tax Credit a top priority. The Urban Institute found that food insecurity decreased 23% for families receiving the CTC in 2021, and 26% for families in deep poverty. According to the Census Bureau 79% of people used the Child Tax Credit to buy food – the most common use for monthly CTC checks. It is not possible to end hunger without ending poverty. Families are hungry because they are poor, and rising inflation is now making that struggle harder. Recent US Census figures showed the child poverty rate fell to record lows in 2021, mostly due to the expanded CTC.
“The CTC was helping me catch up on my bills, but now I’m going to have to be starting all over again. Plus food prices went up, and food’s going up more. With the CTC being shut off, some people’s going to be hungry again. That’s going to be a struggle because they ain’t upping your food stamps.” –Grandmother caring for 3 grandchildren in Philadelphia
Child Tax Credit cut child poverty rate nearly in half last year.
According to US Census figures released mid-September, the child poverty rate fell 46%, from 9.7% in 2020 to a record low of 5.2% in 2021, mostly thanks to the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC), which delivered monthly checks to families with children regardless of income or lack of income. But Congress did not extend the CTC when it ended in December 2021, and desperate families are again struggling to buy food, pay rent, make car repairs, and keep up with other bills. According to the Kairos Center, 40% of the country is struggling to meet their typical expenses. And as the Poor People’s Campaign says, official poverty measures hide millions who are one emergency away from poverty. Since the expanded CTC ended, millions of children are going hungry as mothers and caregivers are forced to work even harder to avoid homelessness and criminalization, disproportionately so in Black, Indigenous, Latina and other communities of color.
“What it means is we’re really struggling again. What it means is I have to decide whether to fix my car to do my delivery job or to pay rent on time. It means my daughter’s glasses broke and I can’t afford to get her new ones until her insurance kicks in. We’re struggling over which bills to pay and which not to pay.” – Indigenous mother in Altoona PA
The Child Tax Credit is a crucial midterm election issue.
Members of Congress also need to take action to reinstate the Child Tax Credit. It’s a winning program not only for families, but in this election season also for candidates. A recent national survey found that 75% of voters favor the CTC. Sixty percent of overall voters, 84% of Black voters, 79% of CTC recipients and 62% of white working-class women under 50 say they are more likely to support a candidate who says they are fighting for the CTC (Keep Families Afloat). And 80% of voters agree that Congress shouldn’t pass any more tax breaks for big corporations unless they reinstate the CTC for families, too.
No “work requirements” – Mothers and other caregivers are already working! We deserve a permanent family allowance.
The US spends less than any other industrialized nation supporting families with children. Like family allowance or child benefit in other industrialized countries, the expanded CTC needs to be reinstated in the US and be available to immigrant families. It must be ‘fully refundable,’ covering families including those with income too low to pay taxes who have been excluded from some tax credits. And no work requirements – what job is more important than raising the next generation? Raising children is real work and moms and grandmas shouldn’t be required to get a “real job” to qualify. Our work is essential to the functioning of the entire society, estimated at $1.5 trillion/year in the US paid at minimum wage. Children need the CTC – mothers and other primary caregivers have earned it.
► Call the White House TUESDAY, 11am-3pm ET (8am-12noon PT)
202-456-1111,and tweet any time @JoeBiden @KamalaHarris
Call and Tweet TODAY:
► Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becarra @SecBecerra @hhsgov.
► Your 2 Senators and your Representative. Find their phone numbers by entering your zip code at Find your member of Congress or call the Capitol Switchboard 202‑224‑3121.
► Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Chair of the Progressive Caucus 202-225-3106 @RepJayapal, @USProgressives
► Congressman Richard Neal, Chair of House Ways and Means Cttee (202) 225-3625 @RepRichardNeal
Include the hashtag #WHConfHungerHealth in your tweets
Sample tweet:
Child hunger dropped dramatically with expanded #ChildTaxCredit. But now 40% families struggling, food prices thru the roof, our children hungry. @JoeBiden @KamalaHarris @RepRichardNeal @RepJayapal @hhsgov reinstate the expanded monthly CTC! #CTCFeedsFamilies #WHConfHungerHealth
More sample tweets:
Instructions: Copy and paste each message below into a new tweet in Twitter. You can add or change to use your own Senators’ tags. For instance, in California you could add @SenatorFeinstein and @SenAlexPadilla to the message to get their attention. Then click “Tweet”.
#ChildTaxCredit cut child poverty in 2021 but stopped short in Jan. @JoeBiden @VP @RepJayapal @RepRichardNeal reinstate fully-refundable expanded #CTC now, incl 4 immigrant families. We urgently need CTC to buy food & other necessities #CTCFeedsFamilies #WHConfHungerHealth
#ChildTaxCredit cut child poverty in 2021. But since it ended, families struggle to keep food on table, esp in Black & Brown communities. @JoeBiden @VP @RepJayapal @RepRichardNeal reinstate fully-refundable #CTC! #CTCFeedsFamilies #WHConfHungerHealth
US spends < any industrial nation supporting families w children. Our kids are hungry. @POTUS @KamalaHarris URGENT to reinstate #ChildTaxCredit, make permanent, fully-refundable & no work reqs. Children need it & mothers have earned it! #CTCFeedsFamilies #WHConfHungerHealth
US child poverty fell to record low in 2021, but families again face crises in food, housing & more. @POTUS & Congress must reinstate expanded #ChildTaxCredit. Children need it, mothers have earned it! @RepRichardNeal @SenSchumer @RepJayapal #CTCFeedsFamilies #WHConfHungerHealth
Mothers & caregivers raise children, care for people when sick, hold community together. Essential but unpaid work worth $1.5T+/yr. @JoeBiden @KamalaHarris @RepJayapal reinstate #ChildTaxCredit! Children need it, mothers have earned it. #CTCFeedsFamilies #WHConfHungerHealth
.@JoeBiden @SenateDems reinstate #ChildTaxCredit now! Incl all families regardless of income & all immigrants. No work reqs, mothers/caregivers already work hard! US families w children deserve permanent family allowance as in other nations. #CTCFeedsFamilies #WHConfHungerHealth
All immigrant families must get #ChildTaxCredit. “#CTC really had impact on our quality of life, as a single mom of a young daughter, caring for 2 elderly parents.” Immigrant single mother Philly @POTUS @VP @SenSchumer @SenSanders @RepJayapal #CTCFeedsFamilies #WHConfHungerHealth
Mothers/caregivers do essential work raising children, caring for sick, feeding neighborhood … worth $1.5T+/yr. But US is only industrial nation w no family allowance. Families need & mothers have earned both #CTC & Guaranteed #CareIncome. #CTCFeedsFamilies #WHConfHungerHealth
👉 Also sign our letter to President Biden, VP Harris and Congress endorsed by over 70 organizations, including the Coalition on Human Needs, Shriver Center on Poverty Law, the Women’s March Foundation, the Thomas Merton Center, Mother’s Outreach Network and over 290 individuals:
“We urge that Child Tax Credits go to mothers or other primary caregivers, leading to a permanent child cash benefit, and for the $15/hour minimum wage campaign promise to be honored.”
Issued by Global Women’s Strike (GWS), Women of Color GWS, and Care Income Now
careincomenow@globalwomenstrike.net
Twitter: @womenstrike_us