“Our life is love, and peace, and tenderness; and bearing one with another, and forgiving one another, and not laying accusations one against another; but praying for another, and helping one another up with a tender hand.” - Isaac Penington, 1667
Dear Ingrid,
Our life is love, peace, and tenderness, as Isaac Penington reminds us. During this pandemic, helping each other with a tender hand is more important than ever. As we shift our manner of gathering and care for our communities, we are also holding in the Light low-income workers and families, who are especially disadvantaged by the disastrous impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic has illuminated how our present economic system leaves out our most vulnerable people. FCNL seeks a world where every person’s potential may be fulfilled, and we believe that economic security is the foundation of this work.
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) are effective anti-poverty tools that lifted 8.9 million people out of poverty in 2018. If expanded and improved, these tax credits would help ensure the wellbeing of low-income workers and their families.
The last COVID-19 stimulus package, the CARES Act, was an important step forward, but it didn’t go far enough. Restaurant owners, for instance, were provided substantial tax relief but restaurant workers were not. Expanding and improving the EITC and the CTC as part of the federal response to COVID-19 would help millions of people through this economic downturn.
As Friends, we call on Congress to expand tax credits for low-income workers and their families as the single most effective anti-poverty tool at our disposal. Specifically, we urge Congress to:
- Fix the gaps in the EITC for adults not raising children and workers younger than 25.
- Expand the CTC to include the 26 million children whose parents don’t earn enough money to claim the full credit.
| Download the Letter |
Please act using the accompanying letter template, call script, and this email form. When you write your letter or email, please add 2‐4 sentences letting your member know why you are personally concerned. Then, call the U.S. Congress at 202‐224‐3121 to be connected to your representative’s and senators’ offices. Leave a message if they do not pick up or if you are calling after office hours.
Your letters, emails, and phone calls to Congress matter now more than ever. We hope you will join FCNL as we adapt to socially distanced advocacy. Until the pandemic disruptions are resolved, we will send Letter Writing prompts only by email. Although not gathered in person, we ask Friends to continue advocating using the materials we provide. Please consider sharing this resource and call to action with your community list-serv.
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Ever faithfully onwards,
Bobby Trice Program Assistant |
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