Send a message thanking those who stood up and voted against this monstrosity of a bill, or send a message to your members of Congress who voted for it, admonishing them for their vote.
Congress has enacted the Big Brutal Bill and Donald Trump has signed it into law.
This bill is deadly.
According to researchers from Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts plus other health care cuts—the largest in history—will result in the deaths of 51,000 people per year. Those deaths include 18,200 people who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare, 20,000 people who will lose health care coverage due to the elimination of the premium tax credit for the Affordable Care Act, and 13,000 deaths due to staffing cuts at nursing homes.
At a time when so many are struggling to afford the basic costs of living including groceries, new data from the Urban Institute shows that 5.3 million families will lose $25 or more per month in SNAP benefits, with the average such family losing $146 a month in help paying for food. Sixty-two percent of the families experiencing these very large SNAP losses include children.
All of this is being done in order to pay for extending the Trump tax scam—making tax breaks for the rich permanent—and funding Trump’s mass immigration detention and removal machine.
Despite the fact that the number of individuals living below the poverty line decreased during 2015, millions are still struggling to get by. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s recent report, The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, “household income for the poorest 10% of households remains 6%…
Last spring, we reported on a new documentary making the rounds at Sundance and other venues throughout the country. A Hug from Paul Ryan followed the story of Tianna Gaines-Turner, who, despite working two jobs just like her husband, struggles with poverty in their hometown of Philadelphia. The highlight of…
Last week the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice sent out a newsletter informing people that today, April 4, marks the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “Beyond Vietnam” speech. The Kairos Center is calling for a new Poor People’s Campaign in order to revitalize the movement started…
CHN just released our latest edition of the Human Needs Report. Read on for articles on what’s next for ACA repeal efforts, FY17 & FY18 budget and appropriations work, a Supreme Court confirmation vote and more. Click here for the full PDF of the Human Needs Report. Advocates’ Efforts Defeat…
On Saturday, April 15, people across the country – and even some around the world – will be marching in recognition of Tax Day. Tax Day – the day when federal income taxes are due – actually falls on Tuesday, April 18 this year, but Saturday is a better day…
Editor’s note: The following blog post is authored by Kenan Heise, a Chicago journalist who has for decades illuminated the lives of poor people in his morally powerful writings. He has written for the Chicago Tribune and other major daily papers. Heise is the author of several books, including The Book of the Poor (2012) and…
President Trump’s address to Congress last month gave us in the human needs community much to smack our heads about. As CHN’s Debbie Weinstein noted in this piece about Trump’s false promises, he promised better health care while working to repeal the ACA; thanks in part to your advocacy, that…
Editor’s note: Last week, CHN Executive Director Deborah Weinstein appeared on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour to discuss President Trump’s proposed budget, and America’s spending priorities. You can listen to a recording of the show here. Please note that the 15-minute segment featuring Deborah takes place 41:26 into the recording.
Editor’s note: This post was written by Leo Nguyen, CHN’s Spring semester student intern. On July 11th, 2015, at a rally in Phoenix, Candidate Trump proclaimed, “The American Dream is dead, but I am going to make it bigger, stronger, and better than ever before.” On March 16, President Trump…
UPDATE: While this webinar already took place, you can watch a recording and view the webinar slides here. Join CHN’s webinar to find out more. Tuesday, March 21, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EDT President Trump’s partial budget heavily cuts domestic programs to pay for a $54 billion Pentagon spending increase. Learn…
So the first part of the Trump budget is out, and it is one of the clearest examples of upside-down priorities you’re likely to see. It cuts funds from programs serving our people – education, nutrition, housing, job training, legal services, afterschool care… – to add money for the Pentagon….
The dark and dangerous priorities of the Trump Administration are laid bare in its first budget submission. The winners are military contractors and tough guy ideologues. The losers are the American people. Anyone who harbored hopes of investment in jobs and opportunity for working class families will be bitterly disappointed. …