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Jayapal and Gomez Lead Members in Urging Congressional Leadership to Expand the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit

The letter also calls on leadership to reject any tax breaks for corporations in must-pass legislation without providing support and relief for working people

WASHINGTON — U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) led 58 members of Congress in urging Congressional leadership not to include corporate tax breaks in any must-pass bill or tax extenders bill unless workers and families are provided with commensurate support and relief. That includes expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) as soon as possible.

In a letter to Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer, the members emphasize that while the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) “was a Republican giveaway to corporations, preventing corporations from amortizing R&D expenses annually was one of the few provisions that helped level the playing field by increasing corporate taxes. Current proposals to reverse this provision would result in another massive tax break for corporations, and a $120 billion loss in revenue over 10 years for the U.S. government. This tax break would come at a time when corporate profits are at record highs, corporate profits have contributed disproportionately to rising inflation, and companies like Ford, Amazon and Boeing are paying federal tax rates below 6 percent.”

The Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit made monumental improvements for working-class families throughout America. The expanded CTC payments kept 3.7 million children from poverty and reduced child poverty by 30 percent. The expanded EITC helped an estimated 17 million workers, who received $700 more on average than under the previous version of the credit. 

The lawmakers urge Congress to “be laser focused on ensuring we continue our work to show that Democrats can deliver for children and families before the end of the year by extending two of the Biden era’s most effective programs for reducing poverty and helping families meet their basic needs.” 

The letter can be found online here. 

The signatories to this letter include: Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), Mark Takano (CA-41), Katie Porter (CA-45), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Jesús G. “Chuy” García (IL-04), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Lloyd Doggett (TX-35), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Mondaire Jones (NY-17), Sara Jacobs (CA-53), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Andy Levin (MI-09), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), André Carson (IN-07), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Grace F. Napolitano (CA-32), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12), Andy Kim (NJ-03), Judy Chu (CA-27), Grace Meng (NY-6), Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44), Marie Newman (IL-03), Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D (NY-16), David N. Cicilline (RI-01), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Ro Khanna (CA-17), John Garamendi (CA-03), Ted W. Lieu (CA-33), Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Troy Carter (LA-02), Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38), Karen Bass (CA-37), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Cori Bush (MO-01), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), and Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03).

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