The policy that Quakers, Catholics, evangelicals and many other Christians all agree upon

I and many other faith leaders have been calling on Congress to renew the Child Tax Credit for the sake of our children, our Scriptures, and our souls

The Child Tax Credit is the single most important policy to reduce child poverty in America. Period.

As a part of the American Rescue Plan, to help us recover from the COVID pandemic, an expansion of the Child Tax Credit (known among policy wonks as the CTC) reduced child poverty in our country by 46%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

With such demonstrated success, it was absolutely inexcusable for Congress to allow the CTC to expire last year, pushing millions of children back into poverty.

I and many other faith leaders at the Circle of Protection have been advocating vigorously for Congress to renew the CTC for the sake of our children, for the sake of our Scriptures and for the sake of our faith.

Our Circle of Protection is a broad coalition that includes the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Charities USA, the National Association of Evangelicals, the National Council of Churches, with all their mainline Protestant denominations, and many justice advocacy networks like Sojourners and Bread for the World.

These groups don’t agree on every aspect of theology or politics, but we are united in support of the Child Tax Credit and the urgency of its expansion. 

The good news is that the House passed a bi-partisan bill that will soon be up for a crucial vote in the Senate. The bill isn’t perfect — the tax credit will not reach the poorest families, as it should. But it will certainly help many people.

I have written many pieces on the morality of the Child Tax Credit and how its success shows that poverty is not inevitable, but a result of policy choices made by politicians. (Kathleen Bonnette from our Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown has also written and commented on the CTC.)

Today I want to lift up this piece in the Christian Post by Galen Carey, the Vice-President of Governmental Relations for the National Association of Evangelicals. It is perhaps the best case I have read for why conservative evangelicals and conservative Members of Congress should support a renewed and expanded Child Tax Credit. It explains why this new CTC bill is pro-family, pro-life, and pro-Scriptures and goes beyond party lines.

As Galen writes:

“The child tax credit tells expectant parents that they are not alone and that they do not have to shoulder the burden of raising a child on their own. It creates no new federal bureaucracy. It allows parents, who know best what their children need, to decide how best to support their children, free of government interference. It lightens the tax burden on those who are already contributing so much.”

I highly commend my friend Galen's piece to you.

And I highly recommend and urge you to reach out NOW to your Senators to affirm the CTC and ask them to support it.  

For the sake of our children and for the sake of our faith, we all need to act. 

Blessings,

Jim Wallis

My new book, “False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy,” is available for preorder. Please consider ordering a copy.