Third and State

The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center put out the following action alert today.

As Congress debates a plan to reduce the deficit, one thing is clear — deficit reduction should not fall on the backs of low-income working families.

Yet that is exactly what happens in a budget passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on March 21. The House plan makes a number of changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) that could end up costing working families billions.

The EITC and CTC help working families make ends meet by both rewarding work and recognizing the additional expenses of raising children. Together, the credits bring $3.6 billion into Pennsylvania’s economy each year. Nearly 900,000 families benefit from the EITC and 1.5 million from the CTC.

Here’s how you can help.

• Like the "EITC Helps Me" Facebook Page. Once you are there, you can share your story about how important the EITC is to your family.
• If you work with clients in Pennsylvania, print out and share this “EITC Helps Me” flyer, which explains how Pennsylvanians can share their stories.
• Add your organization to our letter to Pennsylvania’s Congressional delegation. The deadline for signing on is Noon on April 8.
• Finally, learn more about what’s at stake for the EITC and CTC in the federal budget debate.

Working together, we can tell your stories to policymakers and the public at a critical time in this debate.

This campaign is a joint effort of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, Public Citizens for Children and Youth, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, United Way of Pennsylvania, and the Community Action Association of Pennsylvania.