Media Contact:
Jordan Baker jbaker@frac.org202-640-1118
Statement attributable to Crystal FitzSimons, Interim President, Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
WASHINGTON, August 1, 2024 — In an incredible blow to millions of families, the Senate failed to advance the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act this afternoon. This decision leaves families around the nation without vital support to purchase food and to help make ends meet. The Child Tax Credit (CTC) improvements in the bill, which overwhelmingly passed in the House (357–70) with bipartisan support earlier this year, would benefit approximately 16 million of the 19 million children currently excluded from the full or any CTC and lift an estimated 400,000 children above the poverty line immediately and an additional 100,000 children by 2025.
National anti-hunger organizations had urged the Senate to advance, debate, and quickly pass this bill and to oppose any amendments that could limit the impact of the CTC for families struggling against poverty, the root cause of hunger. While this tax package falls short of the comprehensive improvements made through the COVID-19 relief American Rescue Plan Act, it would have been a significant step helping to address our nation’s child poverty and hunger crisis.
The expanded CTC is a proven tool for addressing hunger and its root causes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it provided a lifeline for families with children to put food on the table, pay housing expenses, and pay for child care. The CTC expired at the start of 2022, and households with children reported a 25 percent increase in not having enough to eat.
Our nation’s families need an expanded and inclusive CTC. Investing in families by strengthening the CTC is vital to creating a more prosperous, nourished, and equitable nation.
The Food Research & Action Center urges the Senate leadership to continue to push for CTC improvements in the coming months.
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The Food Research & Action Center improves the nutrition, health, and well-being of people struggling against poverty-related hunger in the United States through advocacy, partnerships, and by advancing bold and equitable policy solutions. To learn more, visit FRAC.org and follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.
