Call to Increase Our Public Investment in Children through the Build Back Better Legislation

My name is Dr. Pam Davis and I am writing on behalf of the Mission and Social Justice Commission. I am  writing to you on behalf of America’s children. I am an elementary school teacher, former School Board member, and a life-long child advocate. I work with middle class and poor children in traumatic situations, and I am asking you to consider lending your voice to demand that children have what they need to thrive and be resilient despite trauma correlated with poverty, and now with COVID-related trauma almost no child is immune.

We know what children need, but America has never made sufficient public investments (as opposed to private) in our children. This neglect is compounded by the impacts of systemic racism and poverty. According to Child Trends, after record lows in 2019, child poverty rates increased to 17.5 overall, with over 29% of Black children and over 27% of Latino children living in poverty since COVID.

We can get involved in changing the fate of poor and middle-class children. The Build Back Better (BBB) is legislation that would be passed through a process known as “reconciliation.” This bill is considered a once in a decade or two opportunity to begin to undo the inequities and injustices that have long plagued our society and the dismissing of poor children in public policy.

Here are some of the things the bill includes:

  • A Child Tax Credit provision to families with little or no income who would be given the same amount of money as parents with taxable incomes get as tax credits for theirs. This would remove some 40% of children out of poverty.
  • Free preschool, quality education to all 3 and 4-year-olds.
  • Childcare subsidies for children up to age 5, ensuring quality providers and prioritizing the families most in need.
  • Other provisions would improve nutrition and health for children and provide housing stability to kids in need.
  • Crucially, BBB is the same bill that addresses the climatecrisis that can improve the quality of life of all children for generations.

The Mission and Social Justice Commission urges you to contact your representative in the House, your Senators, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, and President Biden.  Put pressure on them to pass Build Back Better legislation.


HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO SAY PASS BUILD BACKBETTER LEGISLATION

You can either call or email the people listed. Use the content of the statement above to construct your request. Then contact your representative in Congress and yourSenators, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and President Biden

Here is how you reach each of them:

  1. Click here to identify your congressional representativeYou can also use this site to find your representative and then Google “How to contact…(provide name of the person).”
  2. Click here to identify your senators. Their phone numbers are listed if you want to call, or you can Google them and find their emails to communicate with them.
  3. Click here to contact Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. You can also call her office to leave a message at (202) 225-0100, but an email would be more effective.
  4. Click here to contact Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.  You can also call his office to leave a message at (202) 224-6542, but an email would be more effective. (New York residents do not need to call Senator Schumer, as you have contacted him as one of your Senators.)
  5. Click here to contact President Biden.