CHN just released another edition of the Human Needs Report. Read on for the latest on the House Labor-H bill and other FY19 spending, migrant family separations, proposed SNAP cuts, reactions to the Supreme Court nominee, threats to the ACA, and more. Click here for a PDF version.      
House Spending Panel Passes Labor-HHS-Education Bill with Amendments on Migrant Family Separation
The House Appropriations Committee passed its version of the FY19 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-H) appropriations bill on July 11. During a contentions 13-hour debate and markup of the bill, the House committee adopted 12 amendments related to families separated at the border. Some members of Congress have been considering pairing the Labor-H bill with the Department of Defense appropriations bill and moving them together on the House and Senate floors. READ MORE »

House Moves Another Partisan Spending Package and More Money for Anti-Immigrant Enforcement
The House passed a spending package on July 19 that combined the Interior-Environment spending bill with the Financial Services spending bill. Advocates objected to many poison pill partisan riders in the bill that would roll back environmental regulations and consumer protections. The Senate is expected to take up the package as early as this week but is expected to alter it significantly. READ MORE »

Farm Bill – and Proposed SNAP Cuts – Heads to Conference
On July 18, the House agreed by unanimous consent to go to conference with the Senate on a farm bill, which includes the reauthorization of SNAP/food stamps. A similar Senate vote is expected this week. A conference committee, which will be made up of House and Senate members, will be tasked with working out the differences between the two different versions of the bill that have been passed by the two chambers. READ MORE »

Advocates Respond to Supreme Court Nominee
Advocates responded with concerns about President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Concerns ranged from his position on the Affordable Care Act and disability rights to labor rights, voting rights, consumer protections, the environment, and more. READ MORE »

Numerous Threats to the Affordable Care Act Persist
Multiple threats to the Affordable Care Act continue to chop away at the protections the law provides to millions. These include a lawsuit filed by Texas and 19 other states contending that the entire ACA is unconstitutional, and the Trump Administration allowing the sale of substandard junk plans. The Protect Our Care Coalition, of which CHN is a member, recently released a report, Summer of Sabotage, that analyzes a number of actions the Trump Administration has undertaken to undercut health care in the last few months. READ MORE »