The chaos and acrimony in the House right now is putting millions of families at risk of deeper poverty by cutting off federal assistance that feeds, educates and houses millions each year. It is infuriating that the basic foundations of our social safety net are constantly being used as political pawns in Washington. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Supporting families through our tax code can minimize the harm these yearly funding battles inflict. For instance, when we expanded the Child Tax Credit in 2021 and made it available to families with the lowest incomes, we cut child poverty nearly in half. Unfortunately, new census data shows that child poverty more than doubled when Congress allowed the expansion to expire.
Families shouldn’t be caught in the middle of the reckless and childish fights over funding the government. Expand the Child Tax Credit permanently so that families can have consistent support they can count on. Our representatives and senators must fund the government and expand the Child Tax Credit now.
Jean claude Loukanou
Portland
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