Expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) Direct Advocacy Hub

The one-year expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is a critical down payment on ending child poverty and advancing racial equity in America. It creates a guaranteed income for children and is available for families through monthly payments starting July 15 that promote family economic well-being, security, and flexibility for families in your community. Learn more about what the expanded CTC means for you here.

But the hard-won expansion will expire at the end of the year unless we seize this moment to make our voices heard and demand this guaranteed income for children is made permanent. Your direct communication with your members of Congress is the best way to make sure our call for permanency is heard loud and clear.

Join us in the fight: follow these steps to connect with your members of Congress directly and tell them why you think the expanded CTC should be made permanent!

Email

Send a letter

Meet in person

1. Call your members of Congress

Follow these steps to call your members of Congress and speak to a congressional aide.

Find

Find the name of your U.S. Representative (you have one) and U.S. Senators (you have two) using these tools:

Plan

Plan what you’re going to say. Use the sample script below to guide you, and make note of what you’d like to add, including information about who you are and why this issue is important to you (e.g. because you are a parent or caregiver).

Get connected

Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
You will be asked who you want to speak with and you can tell the switchboard operator the name of the Representative or Senator you’d like to speak with first. To speak to all three of your members of Congress, you will need to call back and request each person’s office separately.
You will be connected to your member of Congress’ office.

Share your passion!

When your member of Congress’ staffer answers the phone, ask for the Congressional aide who works on the Child Tax Credit. Don’t be nervous about doing this, they get calls like this all the time!
Identify yourself as one of their constituents (someone who lives in their district) and a parent or caregiver (if applicable).
State that you’re calling about making the expanded Child Tax Credit permanent.
Share why this issue is important to you—it’s SO important for your members of Congress to hear how the expanded Child Tax Credit will impact you, your family, and your community.
Let the staffer know that you’re hoping your Representative or Senator will take action to make the expanded CTC permanent.
Thank the staffer!

Sample script:

Introduce yourself and why you’re calling: “Hi, my name is NAME, and I’m calling as your constituent and A PARENT/CAREGIVER. I’m calling to ask SENATOR/REPRESENTATIVE NAME to support making the expanded Child Tax Credit from the American Rescue Plan permanent.”

Add personal details, for example: “I know how hard and expensive it is to raise a family in YOUR STATE. The expanded CTC monthly payments will help parents like me meet the needs of raising children and ensure our families have everything they need to thrive. It will give parents in YOUR STATE the power to make decisions about what is best for our families.”

Ask your Senator or Representative to take action: “I urge SENATOR NAME to speak out on the Senate Floor and social media about the need to make the expanded CTC permanent.”

“I urge REPRESENTATIVE NAME to cosponsor the American Family Act and tweet their support.”

Thank the staffer: “Thank you so much for your time.”

2. Email to your members of Congress

Fill out this form and customize the text in the white boxes of the pre-written message to send an email to your members of Congress. You only need to press “submit” once to send the email to both of your Senators and your Representative.

Recipients

Your US Senators and US Representative

Contact

*Required fields

* Title:

* First Name:

* Last Name:

* Your Email:

* Address 1:

* City:

* State / Province:

* ZIP / Postal Code:

* Phone Number:

Yes, I would like to receive periodic updates and communications from Children's Defense Fund.

Message

* Subject:

Dear [Decision Maker],

The one-year expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is a critical down payment on ending child poverty and advancing racial equity in America. It creates a guaranteed income for children and is available to families through monthly payments starting July 15 that will help promote family economic well-being, security, and flexibility for families in your community. But children need consistency, so I'm calling on you to make that expansion permanent.

* Personalize your message

Families need a guaranteed income that is generous, inclusive, and permanent. Making the expanded Child Tax Credit permanent is a smart investment in the country's future and an essential step towards ensuring all children have what they need to flourish, no matter their race, ethnicity, immigration status, or zip code. I hope I can count on you to fight for a permanent expansion to the CTC.
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]
[Your Email]

3. Mail a personal letter to your members of Congress

You can also send your thoughts to your members of Congress in a traditional letter or postcard!

This is another great way to share that making the expanded Child Tax Credit permanent is important to you. You can use the email template above as a starting point for your letter.

Locate your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators using these tools, identify the addresses for their Washington, D.C. offices, and send your letters there:

In your letter, be sure to include all of your contact information, including your name, physical address, and phone number. You can also ask for a response to your letter! Once you’ve sent your letter, wait a few weeks and then call to make sure the aide that handles these issues received your letter. See the instructions above (#1) for how to call your members’ offices.

4. Request a face-to-face meeting with your members of Congress

Meeting directly with your members of Congress is the most effective way to make your voice heard!

This advocacy involves speaking, listening, and asking questions in ways that invite you and your members of Congress to be vulnerable, to be moved, and to be sensitive to the very real issues that you care about!

In order to schedule a meeting with one of your members of Congress, call (using the Congressional Switchboard number above) in advance of your trip to Washington, D.C. or in your home district. When you call, ask to speak with the scheduler to request a meeting and inform the person on the phone of your name, where you live, and why you want to meet. If possible, know the date(s) you prefer, what you would like to speak to the congressperson about, and approximately how many people will be attending the meeting. You will likely have a chance to meet with an aide, not with the member of Congress themselves, but that’s okay—building relationships with their staff is great!

Our friends at RESULTS have some great tips for meeting with your members of Congress here.

Consider these points as you think through what you’d like to cover in the meeting:

Introduce yourself. Who are you and why are you meeting? If you’re with a group, allow each participant to say who they are and what they do in the community.
Be vulnerable. Ask the member of Congress and/or aides to introduce themselves with a specific question to get to know them better, such as, “What are you passionate about?” or “Why did you come to Congress?”
Outline the issues you would like to discuss and ideally give the member of Congress and aides time for back and forth conversation.
Share your connection to the issue and tell your story!
Make the ask. Be specific that you’re hoping the member of Congress will use their power to help make the CTC expansion in the American Rescue Plan permanent.
Follow-up. Inform the member of Congress and/or aide that you will follow-up over email after the meeting.