Thursday, April 30, 2009

Help the Expanded Federal Adoption Tax Credit Become Permanent

As many adopting families have heard from Adoptive Families magazine and Rainbowkids.com, the federal Adoption Tax Credit that so many families depend on will revert to its original level of $5,000 in December 2010, if its sunset is unopposed.

Important legislature has already been introduced to make permanent the current $10,000+ tax credit for adoptive families. The bill presently has 79 sponsors and is in House Committee. With your help this bill can gain the momentum it needs to maintain the federal financial support adopting families count on to adopt both domestically and internationally.

Urge both your state senator and representatives to support "The Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act of 2009," to make the tax credit permanent.

In 2005, a bill with the same intentions – to make permanent the expansion of the federal Adoption Tax Credit as introduced in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 – went on to gain 74 representative sponsors, but later stalled in the Senate, failing with only 22 senatorial sponsors.

Bipartisan support in the Senate will be essential for this 2009 legislation to become law.

How to Alert Your Congresspersons to Support This Legislation

Consider these steps provided by Adoptive Families magazine*:

1) Find your congresspersons contact information, online:

Senator phone and email: www.senate.gov
Representative phone and email: www.house.gov

2) Log on to http://thomas.loc.gov to determine whether your congresspersons are already co-sponsors of the legislation. (Search for ‘The Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act of 2009’)

Click here for a list of current US representative sponsors for this bill.

3) If your representatives have not signed on as a co-sponsor to the bill, send them your request that they do so*. Tell them how important the tax credit was to you when you adopted your children, or how much you and other families you know are counting on the credit to be available in the future. Emphasize that the tax credit truly results in more children finding homes. Tell them that this is so important to you that you will be following the bill's progress through Congress.

(This bill is currently referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. It has not yet reached the Senate.)

4) Include a family photo: While e-mails are valuable, a written note with a picture of your family or your children will be most effective. If sending e-mail, you'll want to avoid attaching a photo; the large size of the message and the attachment could, potentially, mark it as junk or harmful e-mail.

5) If any of your congresspersons are already co-sponsors, write them a thank-you note. Again, letters sent by snail-mail with photos of your children will receive more attention.

Click here for sample letters.
Your personal story can help. See this example from a blogging adoptive family,

“I wrote my local Congressman regarding supporting the bill. I told him our infertility and adoption story. His office from DC called me. They told me that my letter touched him deeply and he has decided to co-sponsor the bill. I am so excited. Now I know the bill has a long way to go. It’s still in committees, but the more support it gains the more of a chance it has of happening. This just goes to show you that writing your representatives in Washington can do something.”

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*Please note that the above recommendations for letter writing were provided by Adoptive Families magazine. This information was provided here in full as the referenced AF article has minor inaccuracies and the 2009 Bill links unintentionally point to the 2005 bill.

Thank you for your support of this bill and your heart for finding loving homes for children in need globally!

 


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1 comment:

Jer, Kari, Alayna-Maria said...

For Facebook users, there are a few of us who have began Facebook groups to raise awareness of the situation and to share information about contacting Congressmen to support the HR 213. My facebook group is titled "Save the Federal Adoption Tax Credit" and can be found at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=86211114808

My wife and I adopted out daughter from Colombia through Children's Hope in 2007. She is now 3-1/2 years old. For us, the credit made all the difference in being able to pursue adoption grow our family.

Jeremy Podolski
Greenfield, WI