On today’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley made the following statement:
“We applaud the House and Senate for their persistence in achieving the Inflation Reduction Act and President Biden’s swift signature. The bill’s monumental investment in fighting climate change and securing the environment will safeguard our children’s health now and in the future, and ensures that they will inherit a planet no longer on fire.
We also plan to hold Leader Schumer to his word that the Senate will now turn its attention to lowering the cost and increasing the availability of child care. We urge the Majority leader to not stop there: Congress meticulously excised from this bill any mention of children and the issues currently threatening their health and well-being. In addition to child care, lawmakers must swiftly restore improvements to the child tax credit, offer continuous and longer-term health care to children and the people who bear them, and guarantee that no child in this, the wealthiest country on earth, goes hungry. We offer our support to lawmakers as they tackle these and any other measures that advance the health, safety, and well-being of our nation’s 74 million children.”
For an outline of First Focus Campaign for Children’s Congressional priorities, please consult our Children’s Agenda for the 117th Congress.