The Honorable Mitch McConnell

Majority Senate Leader

United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Harry Reid

Minority Senate Leader
United State Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Paul Ryan

Speaker of the House
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi

Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

December 2, 2015
Dear Speaker Ryan, Leader Pelosi, Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Reid, and Honorable Members of
Congress:
As the Steering Committee of the National Taskforce to End Sexual and Domestic Violence (NTF), comprised of
national leadership organizations advocating on behalf of victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, we
represent thousands of organizations across the country dedicated to ensuring all survivors of violence receive the
protections they deserve. We write to you urge you to make permanent the key provisions of the Earned Income Tax
Credit (EITC) and refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC) before they expire in 2017. Policymakers should also close a
significant gap in the EITC by expanding it for childless workers, i.e. working adults without children and noncustodial parents.
The EITC and CTC are among the nations strongest tools to combat poverty and achieve self-sufficiency. These
tools lift more children in working families out of poverty than any other single program, and are designed to
encourage and reward work. Together in 2013, these credits lifted 9.4 million people out of poverty, and made 22
million others less poor. Research shows that the EITC and CTC help families at all stages of life, including infant
and maternal health, improved school performance, greater college enrollment, increased work and earnings, and
even higher social security retirement benefits. These working family tax credits reward and boost employment
among parents and subsequently reduce childhood poverty.
While domestic violence occurs across all socio-economic groups, women living in poverty experience domestic
violence at higher rates. Women and men who experienced food insecurity or housing insecurity in a 12-month
period had a significantly higher prevalence of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in that same
time period, as compared to women and men who did not experience food insecurity or housing insecurity.i
Economic resources can be lifesaving tools in increasing survivors options for safety. An EITC or CTC refund can
provide survivors with the means to leave an abusive partner or can help them become self-sufficient after leaving an
abuser.ii Survivors of domestic violence often stay with or return to abusive partners because of financial
dependency. These programs are a critical piece of the puzzle, helping survivors move from short-term safety to
long-term security. A local program provided this account of how a survivor used EITC to help her financial planning
and secure the start of her economic stability:

Susanna is a survivor of domestic violence with two young children. When she implemented a plan to keep
herself and her children safe from her abuser, she incurred debt for an emergency stay in a hotel and basic
living expenses after being cut off from a joint account. Moving into an apartment allowed her to focus on
parenting her young sons and working toward her professional goals. At tax-time Susanna accessed a local
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site, where a trained volunteer prepared her taxes for free, saving
her $350. The trained volunteer told her that because she worked in 2013 and had two young children, she
was eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit. The EITC allowed her to pay off the $700 of debt she had on
a high interest credit card, start an emergency savings account, and enroll in an Individual Development
Account program. The EITC provided an opportunity for this family to create safety, stability, and most
importantly, a pathway out of poverty. The funds deposited in her IDA allowed her to enroll in a program at
the local community college. Upon graduation next year, her projected wages will be between $19-21/hour
and she is looking forward to a career in the medical field.
If Congress allows key provisions of these pro-work tax credits to expire, more than 50 million Americans, including
25 million children, will suffer by losing a part or all of their EITC or CTC. This would affect 1 million veteran and
armed forces families, married couples with more than two children, and low and modest income working parents.
As Senators and Representatives consider tax proposals that would assist businesses and corporations, they must
not forget their responsibility to low-and modest-income workers and their families who work for such companies.
Congress should make these key EITC and CTC provisions permanent, and fix the EITC gap for childless workers. If
you have any questions as you work on these issues, please contact Marium Durrani at mdurrani@nnedv.org.
Sincerely,
The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence

i Breiding, M.J., Chen J., & Black, M.C. (2014). Intimate Partner Violence in the United States 2010. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and

Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ii www.idaresources.acf.hhs.gov

Cc:
United States Senate Committee on Finance
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means