Catholic Lobby Welcomes Transformational American Families Plan

For Immediate Release: April 22, 2021
Contact: Colleen Ross, cross@networklobby.org, 202-601-7877
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NETWORK Lobby Welcomes Transformational American Families Plan
Mary J.  Novak: “This bold plan will renew our families, our communities, and our county.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice responded to the release of President Biden’s American Families Plan. This plan would extend the expanded Child Tax Credit through 2025 and make it permanently refundable, allocate $225 billion to create first national paid family and medical leave program, and make the tax code more just by adjusting taxes for the wealthiest households and increasing enforcement of tax compliance by the IRS.

Mary J. Novak, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice:

“I celebrate the American Families Plan, which seeks to end decades of disinvestment by making a groundbreaking commitment to our country’s children and families. After years of stagnant wages and the persistence of the racial wealth gap, President Biden’s plan prioritizes Black, brown, and Native American children and families pushed to the margins by our systems and structures. This is what our shared Catholic faith requires, and will strengthen our national community.

“The programs included in the American Families Plan, including expansion of the Child Tax Credit and a permanent expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, a permanent paid family and medical leave program, funding for child care and higher education, and subsidies for coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, would create a more equitable economy and address longstanding problems for workers, caregivers, and families. To make these important investments, the American Families Plan modernizes the tax code and makes the wealthiest individuals pay a fairer share of taxes. While the five-year extension of the Child Tax Credit is a positive step, NETWORK supports extending this poverty-reducing tax credit permanently. In all, this bold plan will renew our families, our communities, and our county.

“The American Families Plan stakes our future in a new vision for our country, one that dismantles systemic racism, prioritizes equity, and builds a just and inclusive community where everyone can flourish. NETWORK urges every member of Congress to say yes to this vision for our future.”

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NETWORK, a national Catholic Social Justice lobby, which educates, organizes, and lobbies for economic and social transformation, has a nearly 50-year track record of lobbying for critical federal programs that support those at the margins and prioritize the common good.