By Samantha Curran

CFI Policy Analyst

No one who’s fought for our country should live in poverty. But right now, veterans and active duty members of the military without children are among the only workers who are shut out of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, a shameful exclusion that means many Americans who’ve risked their lives for our country are driven deeper into poverty.

Under current law, low-wage workers not raising children in the home and adults under the age of 25 are ineligible to receive the EITC. President Obama and House Speaker Paul Ryan have proposed nearly identical plans to address this issue. Their proposal would expand the EITC for workers not raising children and lower the eligibility age to 21.

The EITC is one of the most effective and sensible tools to help struggling working Americans escape poverty. By offsetting income taxes for low-wage workers, this credit encourages and rewards hard work. In particular, it has proven to be a successful anti-poverty measure for veterans, boosting economic security for about 2 million veteran and military households, including 39,000 veteran and military households in the state of Colorado. However, the current EITC structure leaves out thousands of hard working veterans and military service members who are struggling to make ends meet.

Last year, about 1.3 million veterans lived in poverty, and 50,000 veterans were homeless, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. After the tremendous sacrifices and hard work these men and women put into serving our country, they should not have to worry about being able to put food on the table or be concerned about where they are going to sleep at night. President Obama and House Speaker Paul Ryan’s bipartisan plan to strengthen the EITC would help address this issue.

Under this plan, some 630,000 additional veterans and active duty military workers, including 12,000 veterans and military workers in Colorado, would see some much needed tax-relief, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Today as we attend our local Veterans’ Day parades and fly our American flags in honor of those who have served, we should not only celebrate, but support our active duty and military veterans who put their lives on the line for our country. Policy makers can alleviate the economic challenges many veterans face after ending a tour of duty and coming home by expanding the EITC to workers not raising children in the home and to younger adults.

We cannot simply support our troops with songs and salutes or parades and picnics. We must do right by them each and every day by extending fair tax policy to every single one who has served us.