Press Releases

LOWELL, MA – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) visited the Merrimack Valley Food Bank site at Lowell Catholic High School to help package and distribute food. During the visit, Trahan promoted the American Rescue Plan’s expanded monthly Child Tax Credit payments, the first of which will hit families’ bank accounts today.

“This pandemic has been challenging for working families — but help is here, and that help isn’t going away any time soon,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “With funding for anti-hunger programs like the Merrimack Valley Food Bank and investments in food assistance, the American Rescue Plan has helped put food on the table. And with the monthly Child Tax Credit payments that are starting to hit bank accounts today, the American Rescue Plan continues putting money in pockets to pay for child care and other expenses. I’m proud to have cast my vote for this historic relief package, which proves key each day in keeping working families afloat and helping them recover from the pandemic.”

“The Child Tax Credit will benefit so many of the working families that we serve. It will provide them with much needed relief from the financial stresses of the last year,” said Debbie Callery, Merrimack Valley Food Bank Assistant Executive Director. “We appreciate the support from Congresswoman Trahan in securing this initiative for people in our region and for reaching out to these families in person, sharing this important information with them.”

Trahan voted in March to pass the American Rescue Plan, making critical investments that have been key in supporting working families, keeping small businesses open, and bolstering community organizations in their efforts in Lowell and across the Third District. The relief package strengthened and expanded the Child Tax Credit by increasing the amount from $2,000 to $3,000 per child or $3,600 per young child, and made it fully refundable for 2021 — a provision that will ensure low income families can finally access the full benefit. For the first time, the American Rescue Plan also directed the Internal Revenue Service to distribute a portion of the tax credit to working families in advance in the form of monthly payments of up to $300 per child. The enhanced Child Tax Credit will benefit more than 129,000 children in the Third District with an average of $2,600 per eligible household, and it will lift as many as 8,200 children in MA-03 out of poverty.

During her visit, Trahan provided critical information on how families can check their eligibility and make sure they’re signed up to receive their payments automatically. More information can be found on the IRS’s website by clicking HERE.

Trahan also highlighted the American Rescue Plan’s investments in organizations like Merrimack Valley Food Bank. Specifically, the legislation provided the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with $3.6 billion to purchase and distribute food through nonprofits. To that end, the USDA announced last month that it would invest $1 billion in American Rescue Plan funding to support food banks, including $500 million to purchase nutritious, domestically produced food for state food bank networks through The Emergency Food Assistance Program and $400 million toward purchases aimed at strengthening local and regional food systems.

The American Rescue Plan also sent $76,009,996 in long overdue local government relief to the City of Lowell to support COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.

###