(Washington, D.C., Thursday, December 15, 2022) – There is now barely a week left in the legislative calendar before this Congress adjourns for good and new leadership takes over in the new year. While Congress did pass several noteworthy accomplishments over the last 12 months – highlighted by August’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – there are still a handful of important items that demand action, not further delay.
The IRA Includes some $369 billion in climate and energy provisions that will begin our transformation from a fossil fuel-based economy to one where renewables and green energy will take a more commanding position for decades to come. It places the United States on a path to reduce its carbon emissions by 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. The IRA was by far one of the biggest accomplishments of the 117th Congress.
However, this October marked 20 years since Congress authorized the 2003 war in Iraq (AUMF). Despite American military forces withdrawing in 2011 and Saddam Hussein being executed in 2006, the authorization remains law and has been used to continue violence there and in other countries ever since. The House has passed a repeal to the AUMF. President Biden supports the repeal. The Senate must follow suit and end the war in Iraq once and for all.
Additionally, in December 2021, the Children’s Tax Credit was allowed to expire. This credit alone had kept roughly 5.3 million people out of poverty during the height of the pandemic. It helped reduce childhood poverty to an all-time low. The impact was so strong that only 1 in 10 Black children lived in families below the poverty line in 2021. That figure was 1 in 4 as recently as 2018. Nationwide, the childhood poverty rate went from 28% in 1993 to 11% in 2019., that figure had been squeezed to 11%. Once again, the House has approved an extension which the President supports. Only the Senate stands in the way.
Yes, time is short. And this Congress has done much we are thankful for. But Congress – nor the country – can afford to rest on our laurel. As long as there is still time to help our people, that is exactly what Congress should do.
The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) lobbies Congress and the administration to advance peace, justice, opportunity, and environmental stewardship. Founded in 1943 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), FCNL fields an expert team of lobbyists on Capitol Hill and works with a grassroots network of thousands of people to advocate for peace and justice. FCNL is a nonpartisan organization with a long and trusted record of working across political divides to achieve positive change.