Tennessee pastors to federal legislators: Support the “American Families Plan”, cut child poverty in half
June 22, 2021

In response to yesterday’s 3rd District forum addressing poverty,
pastors voice their support of President Biden’s AFP

CHATTANOOGA, TN - After yesterday's 3rd District Forum on poverty with Mark Linton, Former Executive Director of the White House Council on Strong Cities Strong Communities and Director of the Center for Faith Based and Community Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Pastors speak out in support of the American Families Plan.

Rev. Dr. Lillian Lammers, Associate Pastor of First Congregational Church of Memphis, calls on Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty to support the American Families Plan; in part, to invest in Tennessee children and extend the expanded child tax credits found in the American Rescue Plan. “We believe that no matter where they may live or what the occupations their parents or caregivers have, all children deserve to receive a quality education, and to live in safety, without fearing loss of housing or worrying about when they will have their next meal. This is why I not only appreciate the changes in the child tax credit in the American Rescue Plan, but call on our Senators and Representatives to vote in support of the ‘American Families Plan’ so that these credits can be extended for all families who need them.”

“Sadly, the federal government now spends less than it did about 30 years ago on the country's poorest children,” said Rev. Gordon Myers, Pastor of Living Word Lutheran Church in Arlington, TN. “We invest less into children than most of the other developed nations of the world. So it's refreshing to encounter public policy which embraces a vision that chooses to invest from the bottom up, instead of remaining in the trickle down mode, which reflects neither economic reality, nor the moral imperative of concern for the least among us. This is why I support the American Family’s Plan, because it helps lift the most vulnerable among us, who are children in poverty.”

Rev. Dr. Donna Whitney, Pastoral Assistant at the Metropolitan Interdenominational Church, Nashville, spoke of the law's direct connection to the COVID-19 crisis, the effect the law would have on children in poverty in Tennessee, and why it’s been supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics. “In our state of TN, 22% of children currently live in poverty, which is almost 1 child in 4. With about 1.5 million children in TN, that means this new tax credit, if it were to be made permanent, would lift at least 150,000 children or more statewide out of poverty, and that’s something to celebrate, and to make permanent.”

Background
- US spends less than any other developed nation on its children
- How the new child tax credits will work and cut down on poverty
- Effects of the ARP on child poverty
- President Joe Biden signs American Rescue Plan
- USDA statistics on child hunger and food insecurity
- White House Family Plan Fact Sheet

About Southern Christian Coalition
The Southern Christian Coalition southernchristians.org is a nonpartisan grassroots, ecumenical organization. Across the South, politicians use ideology in the guise of Christian theology to push policies that harm our communities and isolate us from our neighbors. The Coalition is a community of Christians, speaking up on the values of our faith.