Moments ago, President Biden signed legislation that will do more to improve the lives of children than any other law in nearly 25 years. Children whose lives have been derailed by the pandemic will see immediate relief through child care, nutrition, education, and mental health aid. Most notably, the American Rescue Plan will cut child poverty by more than half this year alone.
Plus the bill’s one-year expansions to programs like the Child Tax Credit puts us on a pathway to end child poverty within a generation — if (and that’s a big if) we can finally make these long-needed improvements permanent.
Thankfully, Champions for Children have already moved to capitalize on this momentum by introducing a bill that would do just that — offering proven and permanent solutions to end child poverty. But the bill needs your support if it is to become law like the American Rescue Plan.
The impact of today’s signing cannot be understated — not since the Children’s Health Insurance Program was authorized in 1997 has a bill been so poised to help our nation’s children. It is also a long-awaited admission by Congress of something you and I have known for years — that the moral crisis of child poverty existed long before the COVID-19 crisis, and it will continue long after unless we commit ourselves to ending it now.
We’ve taken a massive leap forward in the fight to prioritize children today but just think of all the setbacks they’ve had to endure throughout this pandemic. At least 2.5 million more children fell into poverty in the past year while countless other families have struggled to keep their kids healthy and fed. Let’s celebrate today’s victory, but let’s hold everyone accountable to a better future for the post-COVID generation.