Clearing the Way for Covid Relief; Supporting Recurring Checks and Student Debt Relief

Last week, I was proud to vote for a budget resolution clearing the way to pass more Covid relief and economic rescue funding. President Biden's American Rescue Plan will be the basis of the upcoming bill. The resolution I voted for will allow the relief bill to pass by simple majority votes in the House and Senate.

This week, House committees – including the two I serve on: Ways and Means, which handles taxes; and Small Business – will work on this "reconciliation" bill to move it toward passage.

As a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a strong supporter of the Raise the Wage Act, I'm very pleased we secured a commitment from House leadership this week to include a $15 minimum wage in the House's pandemic reconciliation package.

Supporting Recurring Checks and Student Debt Relief

In recent days, I took several actions I believe would benefit Philadelphians and progress in our nation, including:

• I co-signed a letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris calling for recurring $2,000 relief checks for the duration of the pandemic.
• I co-sponsored a resolution calling on President Biden to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt for federal student loan borrowers.
• I co-signed a letter calling on President Biden "to commute the sentences of every federal death row prisoner, putting an end to the assembly line of executions imposed during the waning days of the Trump administration," as the Pennsylvania Capital-Star put it.

Working to Expand theChild Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit

I am a longtime supporter of expanding the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit because both act as poverty-busters. With new leadership in the White House and Senate, I look forward to wider use of both of these tools in the toolbox to help reduce Philadelphia's poverty rate and help working families.

I strongly support a new child tax credit plan that was announced this week, and I will work to advance it through the Ways and Means Committee. The American Family Act would provide $300 per month, per child for children under 6 years of age and $250 per month, per child for children between the ages 6 and 17 — increasing the credit for all children.

This bill would also make the credit fully refundable for the first time, benefiting many lower-income families. You can read more about it by clicking here. We will also consider a plan, which I strongly support, to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit for workers without children by nearly tripling the maximum credit and extending eligibility. This would mean thousands of dollars more per year for many Philadelphians. It would be the largest expansion to EITC in 12 years.

This is part of my effort to go big and bold on more Covid relief and economic rescue, as President Biden's American Rescue Plan calls for. As a member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support, and as your representative in Congress, I will keep working to make that happen.

Staying informed: To keep up with information and services between these updates, I invite you to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – including updates on my Facebook and Instagram Stories. If you received this newsletter as a forward, click here to start receiving it straight to your own inbox.

Sincerely,

Dwight Evans

Member of Congress