On February 26th 2014, David Camp, chair of the Ways and Means Committee, released his much anticipated tax reform proposal and it proposes eliminating the adoption tax credit. This news makes our advocacy efforts that much more critical. Now that an actual legislative proposal has suggested eliminating the credit altogether, we need to ensure that every single Member of Congress hears from us about why the credit matters to children and families. They also need to understand that the credit must be refundable to help the most children and families. Members will only be compelled to fight for a refundable adoption credit if they hear real stories from all of you.
Outreach to your legislators is the only way to protect the adoption tax credit.
Members of Congress want to hear from you – their constituents – about what matters to you. Typically, legislators only need to hear from 20 constituents about an issue before it becomes important to them.
Remember, just like the rest of us, Members of Congress can be touched, inspired, and motivated to act by a personal story about why a law is needed. They also understand that they are there to represent the people of their district. They want to know how a particular policy will affect those they are called to serve.
Please Act Today! Send an Email to Each of Your Members of Congress
Figure out who your three Members of Congress (two Senators and one Representative) are by using senate.gov and house.gov. Using their websites, figure out the best way to contact each of them (often it will be through an email or a form on their website). Email each of them and explain the importance of adoption and ask for their support in protecting the credit. Ask them to sign on to the Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act—H.R. 2144 (for your Representative) or S. 1056 (for your Senators).
Use this sample letter as a starting point, but be sure to personalize it. Speak from the heart and share your story about why the adoption tax credit is important to children, your family, or others in your life. Provide the link to www.adoptiontaxcredit.org in your email so your legislators can find additional information.
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