Tlaib and Jacobs Introduce Resolution to End Child Poverty

Resources / Press Share on Tlaib and Jacobs Introduce Resolution to End Child Poverty May 21, 2026 Ending Poverty Press WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) and Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (CA-51) introduced the Ending Child Poverty Resolution , which calls on Congress to fully invest in solving the United States’ child poverty crisis. The United States has one of the highest child poverty rates among wealthy nations, double that of countries like the Netherlands or Finland. As of 2024, more than 9.7 million children lived in poverty in the United States, a 154 percent increase since 2021. At the same time, U.S. federal spending on children has been declining for years . In a country as wealthy as the United States, widespread child poverty is a moral and policy failure. This legislation was first introduced in the United States House of Representatives by former Congresswoman Barbara Lee. “Congress has the power to end child poverty and support our nation’s most vulnerable, yet continues to defund and destroy the federal programs that help our children get fed, clothed, housed, and educated,” said Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. “More and more funding is allocated towards weapons and war instead of ensuring our children and families are supported. I’m proud to introduce this resolution with Rep. Jacobs and re-commit Congress to ending the child poverty crisis.” “In the wealthiest nation in the world, no child should lie awake at night wondering how they will get their next meal, or if their family can afford somewhere to live. There is no excuse for our government giving billions of dollars in handouts to the wealthy while eviscerating the social safety net programs that help families and children, said Congresswoman Sara Jacobs. “It is time for Congress to step up and end the child poverty crisis. I’m proud to introduce this resolution with Rep. Tlaib, so we can highlight where people are falling through the gaps, and implement programs to support the families our systems have failed for years.” The resolution outlines the material hardship, food insecurity, health issues, and instability that poverty causes and highlights the U.S. government’s failure to address these issues. To end child poverty, this legislation calls for establishing a national child poverty reduction target to build the political will for change, in addition to investments in children on the scale of the 2021 Child Tax Credit, which nearly cut child poverty in half . In the face of longstanding underinvestment in children, the resolution encourages permanent support for policies and programs that strengthen children’s learning opportunities and access to healthcare, housing, and other necessities. The Ending Child Poverty Resolution is cosponsored by Representatives Pramila Jayapal, LaMonica McIver, Gwen Moore, Kelly Morrison, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Lateefah Simon, and Frederica S. Wilson. This legislation is endorsed by: Caring Across Generations, Chamber of Mothers, Child Welfare League of America, Children’s Advocacy Centers of Michigan, Coalition on Human Needs, First Focus Campaign for Children, Michigan Chamber for Reproductive Justice, Mothering Justice Action Fund, National Healthy Start Association, National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, Our Revolution, Partners for Dignity and Rights, and ZERO TO THREE. “Child poverty is a choice,” said Bruce Lesley, President, at First Focus Campaign for Children . “Lawmakers have in the past chosen to alleviate child poverty — which affects every aspect of a child’s development — for instance, by improving the Child Tax Credit in 2021, a choice that cut the rate of child poverty nearly in half. The Congressional Resolution on Ending Child Poverty put forward by Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Sara Jacobs recognizes that what lawmakers need are not more solutions, but the political will to enact them. We strongly support this resolution and call on all members of Congress to join these champions for children in supporting the nation’s future.” “Mothering Justice proudly endorses the Ending Child Poverty Resolution because mothers, especially Black and Brown mothers, have been sounding the alarm on this crisis for years,” said Danielle Atkinson, Founder and National Executive Director, at Mothering Justice . “When the expanded Child Tax Credit expired in 2022, 4 million children were pushed back into poverty overnight. Our members lived those consequences. This resolution centers the children most often left behind: those in immigrant families, in Puerto Rico, and in their most critical years of development, and it names child poverty for what it is: a racial justice issue, an economic justice issue, and a moral failure that this country has the resources to address.” “The Michigan Chamber for Reproductive Justice applauds Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Sara Jacobs for naming child poverty as the crisis it is. No child should have to grow up without stable housing, nutritio