Child Tax Credit, Build Back Better, Voting Rights & MLK Weekend
Dear Friends,
As Snellville resident, teacher, mother of three and Georgia Fourth Congressional District constituent Amber Steo told our office: "Groceries, car repairs to get us around and the chance to catch up on past bills may be gone now and that is not right."
I agree.
What Amber is talking about of course is the fact that Friday marked the first time in six months that families will not receive the expanded and improved monthly Child Tax Credit (CTC) due to Senate inaction on the Build Back Better Act.
From July to December 2021, more than two million Georgia children benefitted from payments, totaling $3.23 million across the state. In December alone, more than 1.2 million CTC payments went out to hardworking Georgia families.
According to Columbia University, these monthly payments are reducing food insecurity, and families overwhelmingly spent this money on food and other essential needs. In Georgia's Fourth Congressional District, the Joint Economic Committee determined that 85,000 families with a total of 167,000 children received the CTC benefit through November of 2021.
Prior to the passage of the American Rescue Plan, too many children and families who would benefit most from a Child Tax Credit were left behind. Now, after six months of payments, the evidence is clear. The expanded and improved monthly Child Tax Credit works. Through these payments, Democrats and the Biden Administration provided a lifeline for the middle class — the biggest middle-class tax cut we have seen in a generation, lifting more than 50 percent of children out of poverty all while fighting inflation. Families receiving the CTC could be thrown back into financial insecurity, food insecurity, and poverty. We cannot let the progress Georgia families made thanks to the American Rescue Plan end here.
Over the long term, research has found that an extra $3,000 in a family's annual income when a child is younger than five leads to 19 percent higher future earnings, and a growing body of academic research finds that public investments in children yield significant long-term returns with economy-wide benefits, as healthier, more-educated kids grow up to be more productive workers with higher earnings. This, in turn, also generates higher future revenues.
We have the opportunity to lock in this Social Security for children. We must pass the Build Back Better Act and extend the Child Tax Credit.
President Biden and Vice President Harris Visit Atlanta For Voting Rights
While it was honor to be at my alma mater Clark Atlanta University with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris this week to highlight voting rights legislation in Congress, it's time for the Senate to act.
After all, I got arrested last summer fighting for voting rights and filibuster reform. The time for talk is over.
MLK Weekend
As they say, MLK Day is not a day to ‘take off' but to ‘take on' – to live in Dr. King's spirit and give back and uplifting our communities. As the birthplace of civil rights and the resting place of Dr. King, Atlanta has a myriad of ways to observe the holiday and get involved.
Depending on the weather and Omicron, I plan on being at Ebenezer Baptist Church to take in the day with Sen. Raphael Warnock. But there are dozens of events and activities for us all. For more on how to volunteer MLK Day, visit Hands on Atlanta.
As always, I appreciate your time and feedback. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to represent you in Congress. If you have an issue with a federal government agency, please don't hesitate to call my district office at 770-987-2291. Thank you and I hope you and your family have a safe and blessed MLK holiday weekend!