This week at CBPP, we focused on federal taxes, poverty and inequality, and health. 

• On federal taxes, Kris Cox emphasized that expanding the Child Tax Credit to low-income families should be one of Congress’s top priorities in the upcoming 2025 tax debate. Kiran Rachamallu highlighted the nearly 14 million low-income adults left out of the Earned Income Tax Credit, simply because they aren’t raising children in their homes, and addressed the need for Congress to permanently expand the credit to cover these individuals.

• On poverty and inequality, Danilo Trisi and Arloc Sherman explained that 2023 Census data painted a complicated picture of progress against poverty, noting that stronger government action is needed to bring child poverty down to 2021’s record lows. 
• On health, Laura Harker and Kaylin Hewitt pointed out that revised federal rules provide new and more meaningful opportunities to engage Medicaid enrollees in policy decisions. 

Chart of the Week — End of Pandemic Assistance Largely Reversed Recent Progress in Reducing Child Poverty 

  

A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts this past week. Here are some of the highlights: