WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) led 46 Senate Democrats in introducing the Working Families Tax Relief Act, which would boost the incomes of 45 million households and 114 million people, including 43 million children, by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). As more and more people are seeing President Trump’s and the Congressional Republicans’ tax scam for what it really was – a handout to millionaires and billionaires at the expense of working families – Senate Democrats are fighting to put money in the pockets of workers and families.
More than 80 national organizations have thrown their support behind the Working Families Tax Relief Act. Here is what some of those organizations are saying:
Center for American Progress
“This is what tax reform that actually benefits the American people looks like. Across the country, Americans are working harder than ever, but are falling further and further behind, stuck between stagnant wages and rising costs. At a time when over 40% of U.S. households are struggling to afford basics like food, housing, health care, and child care, and an estimated 70% of Americans report facing at least one serious hardship within the past year, expanding the EITC and the CTC would dramatically reduce poverty while helping millions of families weather the squeeze between flat wages and the rising costs associated with reaching and staying in the middle class.
“It’s especially fitting that this proposal comes just days before the first tax day that’s governed by the new Trump tax rules. In contrast to Trump’s unpopular tax law, which rewrote the tax code in favor of yacht owners and wealthy corporations, I’m thrilled to see Senators Brown, Bennet, Durbin, and Wyden introduce legislation that would actually benefit the “forgotten man and woman” Trump claimed he would fight for during his 2016 campaign.” – Neera Tanden, President and CEO
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
“The proposal from Senators Brown, Bennet, Durbin, and Wyden would boost the incomes of 46 million families, helping people with low-wage jobs keep their heads above water and improving the well-being of millions of children. Its tax-credit improvements would shrink the share of children who live in deep poverty — with incomes below half the poverty line — by 40 percent. As debate begins over how to restructure the 2017 tax law, which largely overlooked the needs of Americans of modest means while providing large tax cuts to high-income households and profitable corporations, the Brown-Bennet-Durbin-Wyden proposal should be front and center.” – Bob Greenstein, President
Economic Security Project Action
“The Working Families Tax Relief Act is a step towards putting the American dream back in reach for more families. At a time when so many are facing the rising costs of living and childcare with stagnant wages, refunds like the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit can provide a safeguard for at-risk families across the country. Expanding these programs would be progress toward ensuring these benefits reach even more hard-working Americans.” – Chris Hughes, Co-Chair
MomsRising
“The Working Families Tax Relief Act is essential legislation that can reduce the financial strain facing millions of moms, especially those with young children,” said Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director and CEO of MomsRising, the online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families. “The Trump administration and its allies in Congress gave $2 trillion in tax cuts to the wealthiest individuals and corporations in their tax plan. This bill will make the tax code work for us by expanding and improving the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Care Tax Credit. MomsRising will make it a very high priority to educate moms and build support for this bill this year.” – Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director and CEO
National Education Association
“The sorely needed Working Families Tax Relief Act will boost the incomes of more than 40 million households with 11 million children overlooked by the 2017 GOP tax bill because they are not rich to begin with.” – Marc Egan, Legislative Director
National Military Family Association
“The National Military Family Association is encouraged to see the introduction of the Working Families Tax Relief Act. We believe that fully-refundable Child Tax Credits will increase financial resilience for families with children and that the formation of a Young Child Tax Credit will prove to be strongly beneficial for those raising young children during the most formidable and impressionable years. Additionally, expanding the eligibility age range for the Earned Income Tax Credit increases coverage of those who may be struggling to start out on their own and those who have just reached retirement eligibility. This would provide a safety net of sorts for those at potentially fragile points of transition.” – National Military Family Association
American Psychological Association
“The American Psychological Association commends Senators Brown, Bennet and Durbin for their introduction of the Working Families Tax Relief Act. This bill would put money back in the pockets of hardworking American workers and families and is well aligned with APA’s National Conversation on Deep Poverty. Psychological science has shown that improved financial security is associated with improvements in multiple long-term outcomes for children, including increased academic achievement, lower levels of depression and reductions in other behavioral disorders.” – Rosie Phillips Davis, PhD, President
Bread for the World
“Bread for the World lends its full support to the Working Families Tax Relief Act. The Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit are two of America’s most effective anti-poverty programs, ensuring that working families have the resources they need to put food on the table and provide for their children. By strengthening the tax credits, this bill would lift millions of people out of hunger and poverty. Bread for the World’s members have advocated for these proposed improvements in the tax credits for years, and we strongly encourage senators to co-sponsor this legislation.” – David Beckmann, President
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
“The Working Families Tax Relief Act is a critical step forward for hardworking people who depend on the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) for greater financial security. The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) applauds Senators Brown, Bennet, and Durbin for ensuring that the CTC is fully refundable, childless adults aren’t taxed into poverty, and our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico have equal access to the credits.” – Olivia Golden, Executive Director
Coalition on Human Needs
“Senators Brown, Bennet and Durbin’s groundbreaking new bill invests in our future by helping workers and families with children to share and build our economic progress. They know we all gain when low-income workers and families do better.” – Deborah Weinstein, Executive Director
Community Change Action
“We fully support the introduction of the Working Families Tax Relief Act (WFTRA), which would greatly expand the EITC, make the CTC fully refundable so that it benefits the families that need it the most, and create a new Young Child Tax Credit, providing critical resources to families when they have small children. Taken together, these changes would lift millions of people out of poverty. We applaud Senators Brown, Bennet, and Durbin for introducing this important legislation and will continue to organize alongside our grassroots partners across the country for the enactment of policies such as this one, to ensure everyone has enough to thrive.” – Dorian Warren, President
Feeding America
“We thank Senators Brown, Bennet, and Durbin for their commitment to easing the burden on lower-income individuals and working families. By making additional resources available to many of the 41 million food insecure people in this country, enactment of this legislation would be an important tool in the fight against hunger in the United States.” – Kate Leone, Chief Government Relations Officer
First Focus Campaign for Children
"Expanded tax credits are key to reducing child poverty, a fact confirmed by the National Academies,” said First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley, referencing the recent Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty, published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. “These targeted credits for low-income families are critical to cutting child poverty in half. We applaud Sens. Brown, Bennet and Durbin for crafting this landmark legislation and urge their colleagues to support it.” – Bruce Lesley, President
Friends Committee on National Legislation
“The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit are two of the most powerful federal programs to support low-income workers in this country. Yet for too long, too many individuals have been left out and left behind from these opportunities. The Working Families Tax Relief Act enables these two credits to work more effectively for more people. It benefits children, families, and individuals struggling to make ends meet. It benefits the American economy and our society as a whole. I urge every senator to support it.” – Diane Randall, Executive Secretary
Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality
“Imagine a simple, straightforward tax proposal that would meaningfully improve childhood outcomes, measurably increase employment, and massively lower poverty for tens of millions of working class and middle class families doing the hard work of raising children, and you'd end up with something just like this. This bill stands in complete contrast to the lavish tax cuts for highly profitable corporations, counterproductive incentives to create jobs abroad, and the extraordinary handouts to the wealthy and well-connected that the last Congress enacted. This is the sort of course correction America urgently needs in its tax code.” – Indivar Dutta-Gupta, Co-Executive Director
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
“We applaud Senators Brown, Bennet, and Durbin for introducing The Working Families Tax Relief Act. This bill provides critical fixes to important poverty-fighting programs that leave behind far too many children and working people. In this rigged economy, families are working harder than ever, but have less to show for it. By expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, Congress would create a system that stops taxing working people into poverty, and directs aid to low income children. We encourage the Senate to pass this important legislation.” – Vanita Gupta, President and CEO
National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD)
“The EITC benefits Americans significantly - it is simple and our most vulnerable populations, including the working young and the elderly, should benefit from it. The Brown-Bennet-Durbin bill does precisely this by expanding the age range of EITC eligible people to 19-67. The proposal would make the child and young child tax credits fully refundable and would increase the EITC for workers who do not have dependent children. These adjustments are equitable and will make a valued tax credit more available to our working community members who most need them. We know firsthand from our members that these changes will benefit the communities they work with.” – Seema Agnani, Executive Director
National Consumer Law Center
“We are gratified that this bill also gives the IRS the ability to regulate paid tax preparers. It’s shocking that in most of the country there are no minimum competency standards for the majority of paid tax preparers. A tax return is often the most important financial document for hardworking families that receive the EITC and CTC, and over half rely on a paid preparer to fill out the forms.” – Mandi Matlock, Counsel
National WIC Association
“WIC’s nutrition support helps struggling families grow healthy babies and young children. It’s high time that tax policy extend that support by changing the trajectory of income inequality in this country and working to move families out of poverty. The Working Families Tax Relief Act will help strengthen family income and take yet another step toward alleviating the crushing effects of poverty on young children. If distorted tax policy can help America’s billionaire class further prosper, then as a matter of public policy we should be required to help struggling families give their babies and young children a fighting chance to succeed. The Working Families Tax Relief Act helps chip away at the shame of our nation’s embarrassing income imbalance.” – Rev. Fr. Douglas A. Greenaway, President & CEO
National Women’s Law Center
“The Working Families Tax Relief Act would boost the bottom line for millions of women and their families and help right our upside-down tax code that leaves too many hardworking people behind.” – Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
“As Pope Francis said, ‘Working for a just distribution of the fruits of the earth and human labor is not mere philanthropy. It is a moral obligation.’ The Working Families Tax Relief Act follows Pope Francis's call. The Catholic Sisters and activists of NETWORK are proud to support this legislation. American workers need a raise, especially working parents. This bill expands the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, our most effective anti-poverty tools. Instead of giveaways for the top 1%, let's give tax breaks to millions of families who need them the most!” – Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director
Poligon Education Fund
“The EITC provides hard working Americans whose wages have not been meeting living costs to afford important necessities. We are proud to join our colleagues in supporting this bill.” – Ruwa Romman, Legislative Fellow
Prosperity Now
“As an organization that works to make it possible for millions of people, especially people of color and those of limited incomes, to achieve economic prosperity, Prosperity Now welcomes the introduction of the Working Families Tax Relief Act. By building and expanding on what works for working families in our tax code, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, while also addressing shortcomings within these programs, the Working Families Tax Relief Act would substantially boost the economic outlook of countless families throughout the country. At the same time, the efforts by the Working Families Tax Relief Act to provide greater support to young families and families in Puerto Rico would allow more low- and moderate-income families to access and benefit from the tax code.” – Andrea Levere, President
RESULTS
“Tax credits like the EITC and CTC have long had bipartisan support thanks to their success supporting millions of families to move out of poverty. I’m deeply grateful to Senators Brown, Bennet, and Durbin for their leadership moving us toward a more equitable tax code. Looking ahead, I hope we can make it a priority to both expand these tax credits and move toward a tax code that creates opportunity for all.” – Dr. Joanne Carter, Executive Director
UnidosUS
“The Working Families Tax Relief Act, introduced by Senators Brown, Bennett, and Durbin, strengthens the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit to assist 9 million hardworking Latino families to make ends meet, stay healthy, put food on their table, and keep a roof over their heads. The Act would also have long-lasting impacts on Latino families and children, including many Puerto Rican families who will be allowed to receive these credits for the first time.” – Eric Rodriguez, Vice President of Policy & Advocacy
Women of Color Network, Inc.
“We at Women of Color Network, Inc. fully support and stand behind the Working Families Tax Relief Act (WFTRA). Senators Brown, Bennet and Durbin are introducing a bill that will directly address the financial needs of communities of color and will provide relief to families in Puerto Rico, all who are consistently left behind. This is a step in the right direction in supporting those on the margins of the margins.” – Tonya Lovelace, CEO
Woodstock Institute
“This bill will help workers with lower incomes to care for their families, avoid or pay down costly debt, access needed health care, and boost local economies.” – Dory Rand, President
ZERO TO THREE
“ZERO TO THREE applauds the introduction of the Working Families Tax Relief Act, which would provide a much-needed income boost to a majority of our nation’s babies and their families. Poverty impedes babies’ healthy development. With close to one in four babies experiencing poverty, the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit are important steps to providing additional income for families during a time when it will have the greatest impact on their babies’ development.” – Myra Jones-Taylor, Chief Policy Officer
Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy
“We are pleased to see that this Congress’ Working Families Tax Relief Act extends full eligibility of the Child Tax Credit to all children in families with little or no earnings. Our research shows that extending full eligibility to these families has an even greater impact on poverty reduction than increasing the value of the current credit, which leaves out many families entirely,” Sophie Collyer and Christopher Wimer, Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy
Here is a complete list of the 83 organizations that have endorsed the Working Families Tax Relief Act:
9to5, National Association of Working Women
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
American Federation of Teachers
American Psychological Association
Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)
Americans for Tax Fairness
Asset Building Strategies
Bread for the World
Caring Across Generations
Center for American Progress
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Center for Public Justice
Center for the Study of Social Policy
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Child Care Aware of America
Child Welfare League of America
Children's Defense Fund
Children's Health Watch
Christian Reformed Church
Coalition on Human Needs
Community Change Action
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, US Provinces
Economic Security Project Action
Ecumenical Poverty Initiative
Equal Rights Advocates
Faith in Public Life
Family Focused Treatment Association
First Focus Campaign for Children
Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)
Forum for Youth Investment
Franciscan Action Network
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Futures Without Violence
Health Justice Innovations
Illinois-Iowa Center for Independent Living
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Justice in Aging
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Main Street Alliance
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF)
National Association for Children's Behavioral Health
National Association of Counties (NACo)
National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA)
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD)
National Coalition for the Homeless
National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients)
National Council of Jewish Women
National Education Association
National Employment Law Project (NELP)
National Indian Child Welfare Association
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
National Low Income Housing Coalition
National Military Family Association
National Organization for Women
National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV)
National Urban League
National WIC Association
National Women's Law Center
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
Office of Social Justice, the Christian Reformed Church in North America
Poligon Education Fund
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Episcopal Church
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Treatment Communities of America
Ujima Inc: The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community
Union for Reform Judaism
United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW)
United Church of Christ
Voices for Progress
Windham Area Interfaith Ministry
Women of Color Network, Inc.,