offeringofletters.org

On March 24, Bread hosted the first meeting of the Religious Working Group on Tax Policy, which will work to coordinate efforts within the faith community to elevate the needs of low-income people during the upcoming tax debate.

The working group is drafting a statement of principles that will be used to frame the priorities of the faith community. We will target the House Ways and Means and the Senate Finance Committees as they begin to draft legislation dealing with this year’s expiration of 2001 and 2003 tax provisions.

Bread’s 2010 Offering of Letters is well underway. We are urging Congress to protect and strengthen key tax credits -- the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit -- that help low-income working families make ends meet.

The EITC is the only provision in the tax code designed specifically to help low-income filers.

Bread staff continues to meet with congressional offices to urge them to prioritize the needs of low-income families as they debate tax legislation.

Bread is convening a Religious Working Group on Tax Policy, co-chaired by the Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations.

This year, Bread for the World’s Offering of Letters urges Congress to protect and strengthen key tax credits that help low-income working families in the United States. Programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit are critical to making sure that low-income working families have the resources they need to provide for their food and other basic needs.

The White House has sent its FY2011 budget request to Congress. The budget request makes permanent the expansions to the EITC and the Child Tax Credit that were included in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These provisions increase EITC benefits for families with three or more children and make more low-income families eligible for benefits from the Child Tax Credit. The inclusion of these provisions is a strong indication of the president’s priorities as Congress begins to consider its budget resolution.

January 29 is EITC Awareness Day. The IRS encourages organizations to host events and engage the media to bring attention to the EITC and to sites that provide free tax filing services. For information on how to participate in EITC Awareness Day, visit www.eitcoutreach.org.

Each year, the Earned Income Tax Credit alone lifts 5 million Americans, including 2.6 million children, above the poverty line.

Dear Friend,

In 2010, we have several opportunities to change history for hungry people.

At no point in time have so many opportunities to help hungry and poor people arisen almost simultaneously. As faithful Christians, Bread for the World members are ready to respond to this moment—despite the challenges of the difficult economic times.

Here are the opportunities before us:

• The president and others have set the goal of ending childhood hunger in the United States by 2015. Child nutrition programs will be reauthorized by Congress early this year. Bread is working to increase program access and participation for low-income children, especially in the school breakfast and summer feeding programs. By reaching more eligible children, these programs could do much more to reduce childhood hunger.
• But food assistance alone will not end childhood hunger. Families need enough financial resources to meet their basic needs—including food. So this year’s Offering of Letters will ask Congress to protect and strengthen a few key tax credits that can make a big difference for low-income people.
• In 2010, tax policies will be debated as tax cuts enacted earlier this decade and tax credits passed in the 2009 Recovery Act are all due to expire. Congress will decide which ones to renew or change. The needs of low-income families and hungry children cannot be lost in this debate. Tax credits could deliver billions of dollars of assistance to working families struggling to put food on the table. By organizing an Offering of Letters in your church or on your campus, you will help to ensure that the needs of low-income people will not be lost.
• Last year, President Barack Obama, working with other world leaders, announced a new U.S. initiative to address world hunger by strengthening agriculture and food security in poor countries. Bread has been involved from the beginning in developing the Global Hunger and Food Secirity Initiative and will continue to be as plans are implemented.
• Work continues on the reform of U.S. foreign assistance, the topic of Bread’s 2009 Offering of Letters. We expect this Offering to carry over well into 2010 as lawmakers continue to wrestle with the reform of U.S. foreign aid.

While hunger is on the rise in our country and around the world, 2010 is a moment to take important steps to reverse this slide. Be a part of this vital work by participating in the 2010 Offering of Letters. Then, journey with Bread for the World on these other initiatives as, together, we strive to end hunger in God’s world.

Sincerely,

David Beckmann
President, Bread for the World