Low-income families will feel it now | Opinion
The U.S. Senate's inaction on the Build Back Better Act was felt by families across Florida last week when their Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments didn’t arrive in the mail. In fact, 91% of families in our state will lose out because of the enhanced CTC being allowed to expire.
The families hit hardest will be those already struggling to make ends meet.
In 2021, the enhanced CTC payments lifted nearly a million children out of poverty across the state, according to the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities. Now, these families are at risk of losing any gains they made to create a better life for their households.
The loss of this critical lifeline comes as coronavirus cases are surging statewide, keeping people home from work without a paycheck, and forcing some to choose between rent or groceries.
According to a survey conducted by the Census Bureau, families receiving up to $300 in monthly assistance per child used the payment on school expenses, food, and other household costs.
It’s not too late for legislators to help prevent childhood hunger and poverty. The Senate can resume the enhanced CTC payments by passing the Build Back Better Act, which contains provisions to fight child hunger year-round by giving states and school districts the means to ensure kids have access to healthy meals at school and at home.
For example, one provision in the bill would ease hunger during the summer, the hungriest time of year for kids who would usually eat at school. Build Back Better would expand the Summer Electronic Benefits Program (Summer EBT) to all 50 states, giving parents and caregivers an additional benefit to buy groceries during summer break.
In Florida alone, this will help more than 2 million kids get the nutrition they need when school is out for summer.
Expanding the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is also necessary to ensure kids have access to the healthy food they need year-round.
This provision in Build Back Better helps schools feed more kids with less red tape during the school year, so they can focus on learning and not their empty stomachs. If passed, the CEP expansion would provide free meals at school to a projected 1.1 million additional Florida students.
We’ve already seen it work in many schools across Florida, where they’ve been able to make breakfast and lunch free for all students.
Passage of the Build Back Better Act offers a rare opportunity to lift millions of children out of poverty and prevent their parents from having to make desperate choices. It’s a fundamental investment in the health and futures of our next generation.
You can help them by letting Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott know why this matters to you, and that passage of a strong Build Back Better Act could be a life-changer for Florida’s children living with poverty and hunger.
Sky Beard is the director of No Kid Hungry Florida, a campaign launched by the national nonprofit Share Our Strength.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Low-income families will feel it now | Opinion
