Exciting news! The U.S. House of Representatives passed a temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit last week in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote and now we need the U.S. Senate to take action to get this across the finish line. [1]

That’s where YOU come in!

***Help us keep the pressure up on Florida’s senators! Send a letter to the editor to your local paper calling on the U.S. Senate to pass the bipartisan expansion of the Child Tax Credit now! (It’s really easy–just click here and use our cool Letter to the Editor tool to submit your letter.)

Why do letters to the editor matter so much right now? It’s a high profile way to put pressure on your U.S. Senators in Florida to vote “yes” on the bipartisan Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 and temporarily expand the Child Tax Credit right now. Senators and their staff monitor what is being said in their local papers. By submitting a letter you are helping us raise the profile on this very important issue and ringing the alarm bells that we expect Congress to pass this bill as soon as possible.

Don’t worry—sending the Letter to the Editor is super easy! When you click on the link, we’ll lead you through a quick process to write a Letter to the Editor to your local newspaper. This tool is pretty magical—you can easily edit our pre-drafted letter, if you wish (inserting how your family is boosted by the Child Tax Credit or would be helped if it is expanded), and send it to your paper with just a few clicks.

The pre-drafted letter (which you can edit when you click through to the link!) simply says:

The U.S. House of Representatives recently took a rare bipartisan vote and overwhelmingly passed the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 which temporarily expands the Child Tax Credit, giving much needed support to families and our local economy.

It’s now our Senators turn to make sure this bill makes it across the finish line!

Expanding the CTC is critical: It allows parents to do things like afford childcare so they can work and take care of their families. This legislation would benefit about 16 million children, more than 80% of the roughly 19 million children in families excluded from the full credit because their family incomes are too low.

This bipartisan bill would be a tremendous step toward allowing parents to work, raise their families, and contribute to our economy. Senators in your state must pass it immediately!

**Send a letter to your local paper now telling your Florida Senators to pass the expansion of the Child Tax Credit immediately!

Here’s what’s going on: The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 (H.R. 7024) passed the House last week in a huge bipartisan vote. Drafted by U.S. Representative Jason Smith (R) and Senator Ron Wyden (D), chairs of the powerful Ways and Mean and Finance Committees, this tax package will temporarily expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC). While the tax package also includes business tax credits, most importantly, it prioritizes a temporary expansion of the CTC for working families—something you and MomsRising have been fighting for for a long time! But some Republican Senators are talking about stalling or making harmful changes to the bill. [2] We need to make it known that we expect them to move quickly and support this bill that will help struggling families and our local economy!

Expanding the CTC is critical: It allows parents to do things like afford childcare so they can work and take care of their families. This is important because there are currently 19 million children excluded from the full credit because of the current structure of the CTC. [3] This new bipartisan tax proposal would lift families and the economy, including by boosting as many as 400,000 children above the poverty line in the first year and benefit about 16 million children, which is more than 80 percent of the roughly 19 million children in families excluded from the full credit because their family incomes are too low. Passage of this CTC expansion would be a tremendous step in the right direction in giving parents the resources they need to work, raise their families, and contribute to our economy, and also reduce child poverty. We know much more needs to be done in the coming years to make sure the full expansion of the CTC is made permanent – and, in the meantime, this bill provides us the opportunity to help millions of families right now and build momentum for the next step in our fight to make our tax code more fair and equitable.

Help us get the Child Tax Credit across the finish line by sending a letter to your local paper and calling on your Senators to take action ASAP! After you send your letter, forward this email to your friends and family so they can submit letters as well.

Thank you for all you are doing to lift up our families and economy.

P.S. How would your family be helped by the expansion of the Child Tax Credit? MomsRising wants to hear from you! Your letters are important and so are your stories. Share your CTC story with us. (You can even do it anonymously).