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The Honorable Mitch McConnell The Honorable Harry ReidMajority
Senate Leader Minority Senate LeaderUnited States Senate United
State SenateWashington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Paul Ryan The Honorable Nancy PelosiSpeaker of the
House Minority LeaderU.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of
RepresentativesWashington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515
December 2, 2015
Dear Speaker Ryan, Leader Pelosi, Majority Leader McConnell,
Minority Leader Reid, and Honorable Members ofCongress:
As the Steering Committee of the National Taskforce to End
Sexual and Domestic Violence (NTF), comprised of
national leadership organizations advocating on behalf of
victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, we
represent thousands of organizations across the country
dedicated to ensuring all survivors of violence receive the
protections they deserve. We write to you urge you to make
permanent the key provisions of the Earned Income Tax
Credit (EITC) and refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC) before they
expire in 2017. Policymakers should also close a
significant gap in the EITC by expanding it for childless
workers,i.e. working adults without children and non-
custodial parents.
The EITC and CTC are among the nations strongest tools to combat
poverty and achieve self-sufficiency. Thesetools lift more children
in working families out of poverty than any other single program,
and are designed to
encourage and reward work. Together in 2013, these credits
lifted 9.4 million people out of poverty, and made 22
million others less poor. Research shows that the EITC and CTC
help families at all stages of life, including infant
and maternal health, improved school performance, greater
college enrollment, increased work and earnings, and
even higher social security retirement benefits. These working
family tax credits reward and boost employment
among parents and subsequently reduce childhood poverty.
While domestic violence occurs across all socio-economic groups,
women living in poverty experience domestic
violence at higher rates. Women and men who experienced food
insecurity or housing insecurity in a 12-month
period had a significantly higher prevalence of rape, physical
violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in that same
time period, as compared to women and men who did not experience
food insecurity or housing insecurity.iEconomic resources can be
lifesaving tools in increasing survivorsoptions for safety. An EITC
or CTC refund can
provide survivors with the means to leave an abusive partner or
can help them become self-sufficient after leaving an
abuser.iiSurvivors of domestic violence often stay with or
return to abusive partners because of financial
dependency. These programs are a critical piece of the puzzle,
helping survivors move from short-term safety to
long-term security. A local program provided this account of how
a survivor used EITC to help her financial planning
and secure the start of her economic stability:
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Susanna is a survivor of domestic violence with two young
children. When she implemented a plan to keep
herself and her children safe from her abuser, she incurred debt
for an emergency stay in a hotel and basic
living expenses after being cut off from a joint account. Moving
into an apartment allowed her to focus on
parenting her young sons and working toward her professional
goals. At tax-time Susanna accessed a local
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site, where a trained
volunteer prepared her taxes for free, saving
her $350. The trained volunteer told her that because she worked
in 2013 and had two young children, shewas eligible for the Earned
Income Tax Credit. The EITC allowed her to pay off the $700 of debt
she had on
a high interest credit card, start an emergency savings account,
and enroll in an Individual Development
Account program. The EITC provided an opportunity for this
family to create safety, stability, and most
importantly, a pathway out of poverty. The funds deposited in
her IDA allowed her to enroll in a program at
the local community college. Upon graduation next year, her
projected wages will be between $19-21/hour
and she is looking forward to a career in the medical field.
If Congress allows key provisions of these pro-work tax credits
to expire, more than 50 million Americans, including
25 million children, will suffer by losing a part or all of
their EITC or CTC. This would affect 1 million veteran and
armed forces families, married couples with more than two
children, and low and modest income working parents.
As Senators and Representatives consider tax proposals that
would assist businesses and corporations, they must
not forget their responsibility to low-and modest-income workers
and their families who work for such companies.
Congress should make these key EITC and CTC provisions
permanent, and fix the EITC gap for childless workers. If
you have any questions as you work on these issues, please
contact Marium Durrani [email protected].
Sincerely,
The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence
iBreiding, M.J., Chen J., & Black, M.C. (2014). Intimate
Partner Violence in the Un ited States2010. Atlanta, GA: National
Center for Injury Prevention andControl, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.iiwww.idaresources.acf.hhs.gov
Cc:United States Senate Committee on FinanceU.S. House of
Representatives Committee on Ways and Means
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
