Thread by @First_Focus

65 million children will be worse off and child poverty will nearly double if Congress fails to pass some version of #BuildBackBetter with the improved Child Tax Credit.

Child poverty is a policy choice. (1)

Leaving 65 million children worse off, @Sen_JoeManchin, is the equivalent of filling BOTH the West Virginia University Coliseum and the Cam Henderson Center at Marshall University a COMBINED 2,826 times. (2)

@Sen_JoeManchin The idea of a fully REFUNDABLE Child Tax Credit originally came from the bipartisan National Commission on Children created under President Reagan in 1989 and completed under President Bush in 1991.

It took 30 years to pass it as part of the #AmericanRescuePlan! (3)

@Sen_JoeManchin The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (@theNASEM) also issues a report showing child poverty costs this nation an estimated $800 billion to $1.1 trillion annually. nationalacademies.org/news/2019/02/c…

What about this cost to our nation? (4)

@Sen_JoeManchin @theNASEM Child poverty negatively impact just about every measure of child well-being, including children’s health, education, hunger, homelessness, and child abuse rates.

Consequently, we rank 36th out of 38 wealthy nations in child well-being.

That is unacceptable. (5)

@Sen_JoeManchin The American people strongly support cutting child poverty and the Child Tax Credit.

West Virginia children have disproportionately benefitted from passage of the #AmericanRescuePlan, which you supported.

Why rip this lifeline away from our children at this time? (6)

@Sen_JoeManchin As economist @Claudia_Sahm recently pointed out:

“Our seniors will get a 6% cost-of-living increase in their Social Security benefits in January. Likewise, we should not pull the rug out from under our kids, by cutting off the monthly credit.”

#ChildPoverty (7)

@Sen_JoeManchin The American Rescue Plan is the reason child poverty will drop dramatically in 2021.

But if the Child Tax Credit and its critically important refundability provision are allowed to expire, the Urban Institute estimates child poverty (SPM) will nearly DOUBLE in WV in 2022! (8)

@Sen_JoeManchin The child poverty rate was 59% higher in the U.S. in 2020 than the rate for adults (18 and over), according to the Census Bureau.

The official child poverty rate in West Virginia was 24% in 2018 — before COVID-19 and the economic recession.

We must do better by our kids. (9)

@Sen_JoeManchin Child poverty leads to higher rates of abuse, hunger, and homelessness and poorer health and education.

In 2019, West Virginia ranked 47th in child poverty.

In 2020, West Virginia ranked 44th in child outcomes.

We must do better by West Virginia’s children. (10)