Recovery must focus on reducing poverty and systemic inequities

Yesterday, the president outlined the anti-poverty impact of COVID relief measures (that you helped shape!) and unveiled a recovery package that can reduce poverty and build a more equitable opportunities for low-income Americans. Congress will be paying close attention to constituent reactions to these proposals, so we’ve got a key window of opportunity to demonstrate support for policies. Let them know you strongly support legislation focused on reducing poverty and systemic inequities.

Will you submit letter-to-the-editors today calling on Congress to quickly pass a large-scale recovery package that reduces child poverty and helps low-income families keep a roof over their head? Use our housing media alert and EITC/CTC media alert to submit your letters today!

Congress should move swiftly to build on the Administration’s proposals and craft recovery legislation focused on investing in low-income families, creating opportunity, and reducing disparities, including:

• Helping families with low incomes afford rent and keep a roof over their heads by expanding rental assistance to eligible households. The Administration has proposed significant funding to build and refurbish affordable housing as part of infrastructure plans, but their proposed budget only includes 200,000 new housing vouchers for next year. This leaves millions of other households unable to access affordable rental housing. We can use media to call on Congress to include multi-year, guaranteed funding to expand housing assistance that is needed to build a more equitable economy and make progress toward making rental assistance available to everyone who is eligible.
• Cutting child poverty nearly in half and boosting incomes for low-paid workers by making expansions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) permanent in their entirety. The Administration proposed to permanently increase the EITC for younger workers and others who are not raising children in their homes, along with making the CTC fully available to low-income families. While these steps are important, Congress should go further and make the full Child Tax Credit expansion permanent, as House Ways and Means Chairman Neal proposed this week. Ultimately, it is important for our members of Congress to hear from constituents that these policies should be permanent — and for them to weigh in with Congressional leadership.

Members of Congress are already talking through what they’ll put in recovery legislation, so it’s critical for people back home to tell them now to prioritize policies that invest in housing stability and reducing poverty. Your local media will help send that message loud and clear.

At this historic moment, will you send housing and tax credit letters to your local paper today to create a generational shift in reducing poverty and increasing equity?

After you’ve written your own media piece, please share our alert with others you know and ask them to take action too. And make sure to send your published media to your senators and representatives!

We feel grateful for all you have already done this year to shape legislation and make a difference in the lives of millions, and look forward to seizing this once-in-a-generation opportunity to reduce poverty and increase equity!