One Last Push to Save Key Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit Provisions -- Are You In?

This time of year, there is a lot of attention on hunger and our fellow Americans who are struggling to make ends meet – but we must ensure that Congress doesn’t put business tax breaks ahead of working families as they finalize a tax deal.

We are in the home stretch in our work to protect and strengthen the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit – can you join the final push by submitting a letter to your local paper?

Many media outlets are covering hunger in their communities, giving us a chance to connect the dots between policy decisions and the struggles of people back home. RESULTS volunteer advocates have done amazing work pushing Congress to save key Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit provisions in local media with more than 70 published pieces this fall – and this media work has made a big impact on the debate. It is likely we have less than two weeks until Congress reaches a final deal on tax legislation — let’s rally for one last media push to ensure Congress does the right thing!

TAKE ACTION: Keep the spotlight on poverty in the U.S. by writing a letter to the editor (you can use the template below or online) to your local papers about poverty and tax credits for working families. Find contact information for media outlets in your area with our Media Guide at http://capwiz.com/results/dbq/media/. Be sure to send your published pieces to your members of Congress!

To the Editor:

During Thanksgiving, we all take stock of what we’re thankful for and look forward to a holiday season filled with family and friends. But 1 in 7 Americans today struggles to put food on the table not just at Thanksgiving, but all year long. Fortunately, pro-work tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) are a critical boost — in 2014 alone, these tax credits lifted 9.8 million Americans out of poverty, including 5.2 million children.

When Congress returns from Thanksgiving, Congressional leaders are pushing to make certain business tax breaks permanent.  Meanwhile, critical EITC and CTC provisions are set to expire soon – if this happens, 16 million Americans, including 8 million children, could be forced into or deeper into poverty. Any legislative agreement that makes business tax breaks permanent also must permanently extend the EITC and CTC provisions. 

During this holiday season, Congress should put working families first. I urge our representatives and senators to save the expiring EITC and CTC provisions, before it’s too late.

[YOUR NAME]

We must seize this opportunity to make ending poverty in America a priority – and to do so, we need to make sure media attention on poverty is not a one-week affair, and then hold policymakers accountable. Join us!

To learn more about RESULTS and our work to end poverty in America and around the world, visit us at www.results.org.