Today, First Focus Campaign for Children, joined by over 90 national organizations and over 150 state and local organizations, sent the following letter to Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick and Nicole Malliotakis — Chair and Vice Chair of the Working Families Tax Team — encouraging them to use the 2025 tax negotiations as an opportunity to meaningfully and permanently improve the CTC by increasing the maximum credit, making it fully refundable, and adopting other enhancements recommended below to ensure those left behind and most in need receive the full credit.
Excerpt from the letter:
Poverty can negatively impact every aspect of our children’s lives, including their healthy development, education, safety, and overall well-being, with potential for life-long and intergenerational negative consequences even if experienced for a short time. Supporting policies that reduce and ultimately end child poverty stands as one of the most important actions lawmakers can take to improve the lives and opportunities for our children, and to help ensure our nation’s bright future. The Child Tax Credit (CTC) is a critical tool to improve the economic security of tens of millions of families with low income and in poverty across the country. The American people – across partisan, racial, gender, regional, and generational lines – agree by overwhelming margins that Congress should extend and improve the Child Tax Credit. The below 92 national organizations and 154 state and local organizations encourage the Working Families Tax Team to use the 2025 tax negotiations as an opportunity to meaningfully and permanently improve the CTC by increasing the maximum credit, making it fully refundable, and adopting other enhancements recommended below to ensure those left behind and most in need receive the full credit.