For Immediate Release: October 15, 2021

Contact: Colleen Ross | [email protected] | 202-601-7877

Catholic Lobby Celebrates Poverty Reduction, Calls for Permanent Extension of Child Tax Credit

Mary J. Novak: “It’s time to build a better kind of politics with children at the center.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the wake of a historic reduction in child poverty in the United States, today more than 35 million families across the country receive their third-to-last monthly Child Tax Credit payments, unless Congress acts to extend the payments further.

Since July, the expansion of the Child Tax Credit in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan has cut child poverty by over 40%. More than four-fifths of that poverty reduction comes from making the full credit available to families with little or no income in a year. While President Biden’s Build Back Better plan proposes extending the expanded Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, Congressional Democrats have yet to agree on the policy specifics.

Mary J. Novak, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, said:

“Our federal policies must center families pushed to the economic margins and harmed by centuries of systemic racism. Doing so is politics for the common good. After four months of monthly payments, we have reduced child poverty in the U.S. by more than 40%. Now, failing to permanently extend the full refundability of the Child Tax Credit would disproportionately harm children of color and children in rural communities. It’s time to build a better kind of politics with children at the center.”

Laura Peralta-Schulte, Chief Lobbyist at NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, said:

“No child should suffer the stress, pain, and uncertainty of poverty which has lifelong consequences. Exciting new research shows that the expanded and fully refundable monthly Child Tax Credit payments is working to ensure families can put food on the table and pay their bills. Over the past four months, the expanded Child Tax Credit has been a manifestation of answering the moral call to ‘love one another.’ Now, Congress must build on this success by ensuring that every child receives this life-giving support into the future.”

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NETWORK – advocates for justice inspired by Catholic sisters – educates, organizes, and lobbies for economic and social transformation. They have a 45-year track record of lobbying for critical federal programs that support those at the margins and prioritize the common good. www.networklobby.org