CHN just released our latest edition of the Human Needs Report, our regular newsletter on national policy issues affecting low-income and vulnerable populations. This edition includes articles on appropriations, the GOP poverty plan, child nutrition reauthorization, funding to fight Zika, and more. See below for the full analysis and links to each piece in the report.
Click here for the full PDF Human Needs Report: http://www.chn.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/June-13-2016.pdf

Appropriations Overview Update
The appropriations process is proceeding through Congressional committees but is moving more slowly through the full House and Senate. Twelve spending bills are required to keep the government operating; the House has passed 10 through appropriations subcommittees, eight of those through the full House appropriations committee, but only two through the full House (another was taken up by the full House but was rejected). READ MORE »

Labor-HHS-Education Bill Moves in Senate
On Thursday, June 9, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed (29-1) the FY17 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (Labor-HHS-Ed) spending bill, the first bipartisan Labor-HHS-Ed bill in seven years. The measure would provide $161.9 billion in discretionary (annually appropriated) funding, $270 million below FY16 levels and $2 billion below President Obama’s request. READ MORE »

Fight over War Spending Comes to a Head in the Senate
The fight over the Pentagon’s war spending account came to a head in the Senate on Thursday, June 9 as the body continued debate on its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2943). Senate Armed Services Chair John McCain (R-AZ) introduced an amendment that would authorize adding $18 billion to defense funding through the Pentagon’s uncapped Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account for additional fighter jets and tanks, maintenance and training, and other purposes outside of the overseas operations in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, which is the primary purpose for OCO. READ MORE »

House GOP Releases Poverty Plan
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and the House Republican Task Force on Poverty,Opportunity and Upward Mobility released their talking points for fighting poverty on Tuesday, June 7. It was not well-received by advocates or Democrats in Congress, and the Washington Post’s editorial writers criticized its “fatal lack of specificity.” READ MORE »

Advocates Rally Against Provisions in House Child Nutrition Bill
Advocates led by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) rallied on Capitol Hill on Thursday, June 9 against provisions in the House Child Nutrition Re-authorization bill (H.R. 5003) they say are dangerous and misguided. Advocates were opposed to the bill that was introduced on April 20 because it would weaken the Community Eligibility Provision that allows high-poverty schools to provide free meals to all students, affecting thousands of schools and millions of students. READ MORE »

New Overtime Rule Celebrated
Major changes to federal overtime regulations announced by the Department of Labor on May 18 will benefit millions of low- and middle-income workers. Advocates celebrated these changes, which will take effect on December 1 of this year. The updated regulations increase the salary threshold a worker must be paid before they can be considered exempt from overtime pay, from $23,660 per year to $47,476 per year. READ MORE »

Senate and House to Work out Differences on Zika Funding
On June 8, the Senate agreed (by voice vote) to meet with the House in formal negotiations, known as conferencing, over funding to respond to the Zika virus. The Senate passed a $1.1 billion spending package in May which it attached as an amendment to an FY17 appropriations package covering several federal agencies. READ MORE »

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