Neguse Announces $350,000 Federal Grant to Assist Colorado's Low-Wage Women Workers
Press Release
Washington, D.C.--Today, Congressman Joe Neguse announced that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has been awarded a $350,000 grant from the Department of Labor (DOL). The funding comes in the form of a Fostering Access, Rights, and Equity (FARE) grant, and will support efforts to help low-wage women workers--especially women of color, immigrants, and refugees--take full advantage of the federal and state Earned Income Tax Credit and the expanded Child Tax Credit. The FARE grant program has awarded a total of $2 million in grants already this year.
"I am thrilled to announce that our state will be receiving these federal funds to support equity in our communities and in our recovery," said Congressman Joe Neguse. "The expanded Child Tax Credit has already had a tremendous impact in eliminating youth poverty, but we will only reach the program's full potential if we help everyone access these vital benefits. I am hopeful that this grant will make an impactful difference for our communities, and I will continue pushing to secure support for Coloradans whenever possible."
"As our nation continues its recovery, we must include targeted programming for women workers who are affected by the coronavirus pandemic disproportionately," said U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie A. Su. "Fostering Access, Rights and Equity grants fund vital partnerships to help inform women about their rights and benefits and ensure that women workers share in the prosperity of the nation's economic recovery."
Congressman Neguse supported the American Rescue Plan and the Expanded Child Tax Credit when it passed earlier this year. He announced this month that the first round of payments delivered $28.1 million to Second District families in August and echoed reports that the credit was creating an estimated $20 billion in local economic activity nationwide. The credit has already lifted approximately 3 million American children out of poverty.
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