In 2021, poverty and child poverty declined to historic lows. There were 3.37 million fewer poor children in 2021 than in 2020, a drop from 9.7 percent to 5.2 percent of children in poverty in just that one year. But in 2022, this unprecedented progress was painfully reversed. The number of poor children rose by a stunning 5.1 million children over the previous year, increasing to 12.4 percent of all children.
Archives: Voices
681 groups tell Congress: Responsibly fund needed services and reject the chaos of a government shutdown
The Coalition on Human Needs and 681 local, state, and national groups delivered a message to Congress Tuesday: do your duty and keep government running. The groups delivered a letter to every member of the House and Senate urging passage of a clean, bipartisan continuing resolution (CR), including “emergency funding that supports current services and addresses urgent needs and is free of poison pill policy riders that are harmful and irrelevant to the functions of government.”
CHN’s Human Needs Watch: Tracking Hardship, September 11, 2023
The not everyone back to school edition. It’s September, and our children really should be back at school. But millions are missing – described as chronically absent. Why? Part of the explanation may be academic disengagement during the pandemic. Another part is the nation’s youth mental health crisis – the two causes are probably related, although the youth mental health crisis existed before the pandemic began.
Survey: The end of expanded Child Tax Credit payments led to financial stress for many
When expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments ended in December 2021, many families had a harder time paying bills and putting food on the table, and their levels of financial stress increased. That’s one of many findings of a recently released survey of more than 1,000 households that received in the benefits in the continental U.S., and another 500 households in Puerto Rico.
With Tuesday’s announcement, lower drug prices closer for millions of Americans
A key provision to reduce prices for seniors came closer to reality Tuesday as the Biden Administration announced the first ten prescription drugs that will be subject to price negotiations between pharmaceutical companies and Medicare. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare now has the power to directly negotiate drug prices with manufacturers for the first time in the federal program’s nearly 60-year history.
CHN’s Human Needs Watch: Tracking Hardship, August 25, 2023
The clean energy and infrastructure edition. Two of President Biden’s most formidable and far-reaching accomplishments while in office include passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal. Last week, we celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act; November will mark the second anniversary of the infrastructure law.
March on Washington 60th Anniversary this Saturday!
Sixty years after the historic March on Washington, which featured Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, civil rights, faith, and labor activists will return this weekend for another march. Among those speaking at the event will be Rev. King’s eldest son, Martin Luther King III; his spouse, Arndrea Waters King; and Rev. Al Sharpton, President and Founder of the National Action Network.
Big Pharma ‘throwing the kitchen sink’ in effort to halt Medicare drug price negotiations
Pharmaceutical companies are scrambling to prevent Medicare from negotiating prescription drug prices, a key element of the Inflation Reduction Act that Congress passed and President Biden signed into law just over a year ago. By September 1, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is expected to announce the first ten drugs that will be subject to price negotiations. But since June, at least seven lawsuits have been announced in six different federal courts.
The Inflation Reduction Act turns one year old
From the White House to the West Coast, advocates on Wednesday celebrated the one-year anniversary of passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The (literally) groundbreaking legislation made historic investments in clean energy, lowered health care costs for millions of Americans, and advanced tax fairness by raising taxes on wealthy corporations while giving the IRS the resources it needs to pursue tax cheats.
Advocates call for free and easy IRS Direct File
Advocates for tax fairness this week delivered a petition – signed by more than 65,000 people – to the IRS in support of a free IRS Direct File option. Along with the petition delivery, advocates, many of whom make up the Coalition for Free and Fair Filing, held a briefing to push for the need for Direct File and to commemorate this week’s one year anniversary of passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – which included needed resources for the IRS, offset by making the wealthy and corporations pay more of their fair share in taxes.
The potential impact of the Inflation Reduction Act’s efforts to reign in prescription drug prices
Next Wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, an ambitious legislative package that will boost clean energy, lower prescription drug costs, and increase tax fairness by giving the IRS more resources to pursue wealthy tax cheats. Already, millions of Americans with diabetes on Medicare are saving money on insulin, which, in most cases, was capped at $35 beginning this year. And by September 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will announce the selection of 10 prescription drugs whose prices will be negotiated between the federal government and pharmaceutical companies.
Another chance to reduce childhood poverty
When I was born into poverty, the deck was stacked against me in all aspects of life — from educational opportunities and health care to the future earnings I could expect. Now I’ve graduated from college and I’m poised to start my first post-college job. What made the difference? Hard work, yes — but also public investment. Public programs helped keep me fed, healthy, and learning as I grew up. Kids growing up today deserve the same chance.