MEDIA ADVISORY: WV Groups Will Urge Senator Manchin To Negotiate Extension of Child Tax Credit

MEDIA ADVISORY for Friday, January 14, 2022

 

Media Contact: Lida Shepherd (304) 356-8428

 

West Virginia Groups Will Urge Senator Manchin To Negotiate Extension of 

Child Tax Credit

 Coalition to Manchin: “346,000 WV children are counting on you.

 

  • WHAT: Press Conference on Child Tax Credit 
  • WHEN: Friday, January 14, 2022 at 12pm ET
  • WHERE: Steps of WV State Capitol (riverside) or view virtually at facebook.com/wvcbp 
  • WHO: Coalition of West Virginia groups and directly impacted parents.  Speakers include Reverend Jeff Allen, Joanna Vance, Delegate Sean Hornbuckle, Marissa Sanders, and Kelly Allen.

 

Charleston, West Virginia — On Friday January 14th, at 12PM ET, a coalition of West Virginia organizations and directly impacted parents will hold a press event on the steps of the State Capitol with a clear message to Senator Joe Manchin: “Give our families a chance at stability, negotiate a deal for the child tax credit.”

 

Since Congress has not passed the Build Back Better Act, including an extension of the child tax credit (CTC), January 14th is the day tens of thousands of families in West Virginia will no longer receive the monthly boosted CTC dollars into their bank account. 

 

Ahead of this looming deadline, parents who have directly benefited from the CTC will share the struggles they anticipate when payments stop coming in the midst of a renewed surge of COVID-19. 

 

Starting in July 2021, most families with children began receiving $3,600 for every child in the household under the age of six and $3,000 for every child between the ages of six and 17. Over 90 percent of parents report spending their CTC payments on meeting basic household needs. The expanded CTC was responsible for historic reductions in child poverty– reducing it by more than 40 percent nationally. In West Virginia, 50,000 children are at risk of slipping back into poverty or deeper into poverty if it is not renewed while over 300,000 kids will see their household incomes reduced. 

 

A recent survey by Parents Together Action found 86% of West Virginia parents reported the monthly payments made a “huge difference” for their families, and 88% said the credits made them less anxious about their finances.

 

The coalition supporting this press event includes: WV Council of Churches, Young West Virginia, West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, West Virginia Citizen Action Group, Rattle the Windows, American Friends Service Committee West Virginia, TEAM for West Virginia Children, National Association of Social Workers West Virginia Chapter, Race Matters West Virginia, and Community Change Action.