Signatures are due by September 4, 2020. Please sign this letter if you are a Pennsylvania faith leader (for example, if you are a Catholic Sister, or you run a local organization, or have another leadership role in your community).
In an effort to make the formatting process as smooth as possible, we ask that you take care to enter your information with proper capitalization, spelling out full names rather than using abbreviations, etc. All information other than email address will appear on the final version of the letter.
If you have any questions, please contact Amelia Kegan (
amelia@fcnl.org) or Andre Gobbo (
andre@fcnl.org)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Senator Toomey:
As interfaith leaders in Pennsylvania, our responsibility is to minister to those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in cities and counties across our state. This effort includes comforting families mourning the loss of loved ones and providing food and financial assistance to those suffering from the economic devastation, especially in Black and Brown communities. We thank you for your leadership earlier this year to provide federal assistance to meet critical needs. We write today to urge support for additional financial resources for low-income people so they can live in dignity. Time is of the essence as US hiring has slowed and government jobs reports offer signs that the economic damage from the pandemic will last far longer than initially anticipated.
The next federal package must include a second round of direct cash payments and must be as inclusive as possible to provide acute assistance to families. 55,000 U.S. citizens in Pennsylvania did not receive stimulus payments in the CARES Act. We urge you to add your name as a cosponsor of the “Coronavirus Assistance for American Families (CAAF) Act”, introduced by Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Marco Rubio (R-FL). Your co-sponsorship of this legislation would help ensure that immigrant families with a U.S. citizen parent are made eligible for funding in the next COVID-19 package. At the same time, we urge you to ensure that all U.S. citizen children, including those whose parents file taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), are eligible for stimulus payments. Inclusion would be consistent with the Child Tax Credit provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and would ensure that all U.S. citizen children receive desperately needed support to maintain stability and good health.
With government and private sector economists now expecting a very difficult labor market through at least 2021, the faith community asks you to support expansions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Expansion of the CTC would provide relief for 26 million low-income children who today receive only a partial credit or no credit, while expansion of the EITC would life 5 million workers out of poverty. In Pennsylvania, 891,000 children would benefit from CTC expansion and 592,000 workers would benefit from an expanded EITC. The credits are well-designed both to provide needed economic stimulus and to bolster the income of millions of low-income families early next year.
Our sacred texts call us to prioritize the needs of those struggling in poverty. We cannot turn a blind eye to the needs of our sisters and brothers in this time of crisis. We ask you to quickly enact a robust COVID relief package that includes these important provisions.
Sincerely,
