For pregnant workers and new moms, FY 2023 spending bill was a welcome outcome
David Elliot,
January 5, 2023
Human needs advocates have yet to unpack every last detail included in the recently approved fiscal year 2023 appropriations package, which Congress passed shortly before recessing for the December holidays. The legislation, which when introduced was 4,155 pages in length, includes several hard-fought measures for pregnant workers and new moms that please labor and health care advocates.
To Our Human Needs Advocacy Partners
Deborah Weinstein,
December 23, 2022
The House has enacted the omnibus spending bill, 225 to 201. Ten Republicans joined 215 Democrats. One Democrat (reported to be Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) joined 200 Republicans in opposing. So it will go to President Biden for his signature, and the 118th Congress will convene in January. Your unflagging work led to gains for people who need help, and protected people from hardship. It is a privilege to have the chance to work with you, learn from you, and amplify your voices.
Food insecurity is already a huge problem for the U.S. In 2023, it may get worse.
David Elliot,
December 23, 2022
In 2021, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, 33 million Americans lived in food-insecure households. That number was actually a drop from the year before, due to the expanded Child Tax Credit and other pandemic relief programs. But in 2022, hunger in America was again on the rise, after Congress refused to extend the CTC expansion past December 2021.
The good, the bad, and the bitter: The FY23 Omnibus Package
CHN Staff,
December 20, 2022
Senate and House negotiators managed to include some important initiatives in the omnibus end-of-year funding package that will help millions of people withstand hunger and receive health care. More people will get help with home heating or cooling, urgently needed as temperatures plummet and home energy costs rise. There are increases for Head Start and child care. But because of the intransigence of Minority Leader McConnell and some in his caucus, a lot of good that could have been done for people nationwide was thwarted, and some of the good that was included was there only because other cuts were imposed. This is a Grinch-y approach to the nation’s needs.
COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship, December 16, 2022
CHN Staff,
December 16, 2022
The appropriations edition. During the next few days, leaders in Congress will try to hammer out an agreement on an omnibus appropriations bill for FY 2023. We don’t yet know the total for domestic funding, or how specific programs will fare. But there is one thing we do know, and we know it emphatically. We know that for the past 12 years, human needs programs have been starved of funding – and now, Congress has an opportunity to address this.
