Poverty

JCPA is committed to building a more just and equitable society, especially as a growing number of middle- and low-income families face temporary or permanent poverty due to stagnating wages and increasing job insecurity. We believe that it is the government’s duty to provide the necessary assistance to ensure that every person is, regardless of income, able to sustain a basic standard of living, particularly as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

JCPA is urging Congress to enact a federal minimum wage floor of at least $15 an hour for all workers in the U.S. and ensure a robust social safety net with increased access to and eligibility for critical programs, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicare and Medicaid, and Social Security. Congress should also expand and make permanent the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit. To help lift the next generation out of poverty, JCPA supports more funding for child nutrition programs, such as the Summer Feeding Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Food insecurity is one of the most acute hardships many Americans, including children, face across the country.

As the nation works to recover from the COVID-19 crisis and economic fallout, JCPA and interfaith partners are advocating for “bold legislation that will bring about a just, sustainable, and inclusive recovery, one that addresses the systemic issues and racial injustices laid bare by the pandemic.” Such legislation should focus on low-income and vulnerable groups and include permanent family and medical leave, affordable childcare, and other social safety net programs and initiatives that invest in community wellbeing. Click here for the full interfaith recommendations for recovery legislation.