Rep. Brown Names Cleveland Resident Shaneice Ball as Virtual Guest to State of the Union Address

WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS, OH – Today, Representative Shontel M. Brown (OH-11) announced Shaneice Ball, a mother of three from Cleveland who benefitted from the expanded Child Tax Credit, will be her virtual guest for President Biden’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday, March 1.

Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, advance payments of up to half of the 2021 Child Tax Credit were disbursed to more than 35 million American families from July to December 2021. In Ohio’s Eleventh District, more than 70,000 families, including Shaneice’s, received advance payments.

While safety protocols will limit in-person attendance at this year’s State of the Union, Rep. Brown said inviting Shaneice as her virtual guest is an important way to highlight the achievements and the work still to be done under the leadership of President Biden.

“Both the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have made tangible differences in the lives of Northeast Ohioans,” said Rep. Brown. “For this year’s State of the Union Address, I wanted to highlight one of the millions of Americans who benefitted from the historic expansion of the Child Tax Credit. People like my guest, Shaneice, used the Child Tax Credit to make ends meet, cover key expenses like rent and childcare, and return to the workforce. In Ohio and across the country, these payments lowered poverty and reduced hunger, which is why I continue to call for an extension of this critical lifeline.”

“I proudly accepted Congresswoman Brown’s invitation to attend the State of the Union because I want to show how important the Child Tax Credit was to families like mine,” said Shaneice Ball, who plans to watch the speech from her Cleveland home.

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