February 2, 2024 

The domestic emergency needs edition. You’ve heard some in Congress say we have an emergency along our Southern border. And yes, it is true that Republicans should join Democrats at the table and negotiate a comprehensive immigration bill – one that treats immigrants fairly, whether they are already here, or are seeking to come here due to facing political oppression or various other forms of violence at home. 

But as members of Congress stare down the FY 2024 appropriations process from both sides of the aisle, it is abundantly clear that we have a number of domestic human needs emergencies we must address. Despite this, there are reports that a new agreement to allocate funding among appropriations bills will leave the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education with less money than in FY 2023.  Still, Congress must be held accountable to address the crises and shortfalls described below.  

We have a child care crisis. We need billions of dollars to address it. We have a housing shortfall – more than 100,000 Americans could lose access to affordable housing if Congress does not act. We have millions of mothers and children who could be turned away from critical WIC nutritional benefits. We have an assault on Title I public education funding – that could cost several hundred thousands of teachers their jobs, causing irreparable harm to kids from families with low incomes. We have more than one million Americans who could lose help with their home heating and cooling bills. 

The list goes on, but you get the picture. It is more important than ever that we tell Congress: pass spending bills without delay that fully fund our domestic priorities.