Human needs advocates, including people of faith, rallied this week against a House measure that would severely cut spending for critical domestic programs in exchange for raising the nation’s debt ceiling. The bill passed narrowly (217-215), but it is strongly opposed in the Senate and by President Biden. The advocates at Wednesday’s event were well aware that their fight must continue.
Archives: Voices
High energy bills force Americans to choose between paying utilities, rent, or even food
More Americans are behind on their utility bills than at any point since the 2009 Great Recession, a new report has found. Fueled by dramatic spikes in the cost of energy and by the expiration of pandemic aid programs, Americans owed $17.8 billion on their utility bills as of the end of January 2023. That’s up from $15.9 billion in January 2022, according to the report, released this week by the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association (NEADA).
Medicaid cutoffs: An American horror story
The biggest threat to Americans today isn’t from a foreign power. It’s from a long-running war on the poor by out of touch politicians and their Wall Street backers. The latest attack on working Americans even has a name: “The Unwinding.” If that sounds like the title of a horror movie to you, you’re not far off. Starting this April, state governments and welfare offices began cutting off Medicaid coverage from some 15 million people.
Don’t shred the safety net — expand it.
Most of us rely on some cash assistance to get by at some point, whether we realize it or not. For wealthy people, that might include a family trust or any number of elaborate tax breaks. For middle-income people, it might come in the form of a mortgage interest deduction on their taxes, an inheritance, or a grandparent’s contribution to a college fund. But for many working people, that kind of help can only come from public programs — the kind that are now under threat from conservatives in Congress.
CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship, April 14, 2023
The Tax Day edition. Tuesday is Tax Day, and the human needs community has activities planned. The message behind the activities is that we need to raise revenues reasonably and responsibly in order to invest in a care economy. A care economy will mean hope, opportunity, and prosperity for millions of Americans.
Dangerous ACA ruling threatens preventive care for tens of millions of Americans
The Biden Administration has announced it will appeal a Texas judge’s ruling striking down a key part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that allows tens of millions of Americans free access to cancer screenings and other forms of preventive health care. Last week, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor struck down provisions of the ACA that require insurers to provide certain preventive health care services free of charge. If allowed to stand, the ruling could affect all Americans who receive their health care through employer-based insurance or through the ACA marketplace.
A Reminder: SNAP Users are People, too
I began working at Fresh Market the fall of my senior year, in the heart of the pandemic. Every day, I would go to work, scanning and bagging the groceries of whoever came into my line. Occasionally, the flow of checkout would ebb. Sometimes, I was to blame—I pushed the wrong button, double scanned an item, or couldn’t quite figure out exactly what kind of apples my customer wanted to purchase. Other times, it was something out of my control: the customer input the wrong pin, or they left their wallet in the car. One thing that always stopped the flow was the use of EBT cards.
CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship, March 31, 2023
The Medicaid unwinding edition. Early in the pandemic, Congress gave states more Medicaid money to address COVID-19. In return, states were not allowed to drop people from their Medicaid rolls. That ends tomorrow. Beginning April 1, five states – Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, New Hampshire, and South Dakota – will start ending Medicaid coverage for those who have not demonstrated their continued eligibility. Almost every other state will follow in May, June, or July. And by roughly one year from now, millions will have lost access to health care.
On ACA’s 13th anniversary, White House launches two-pronged approach to defend it
President Biden joined past and present leaders in Congress and health care advocates throughout the country this week in marking the 13th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The White House’s celebration of the ACA’s birthday on Thursday was a two-pronged effort that focused both on the law’s success – more Americans have access to health care than ever before – and on threats to its well-being
Will Congress Take This Opportunity to Fight for Workers? The Reintroduction of the PRO Act
“The union is not some third-party entity that makes decisions for people, the union is the workers.” This is what the vice president of a local union in Orlando, Florida told me the first time I met him as he recruited me to help the food service workers at my private college in a wealthy suburb of Orlando. Prior to meeting him, I knew nothing about unions and was in the dark about the way the college’s food supplier treated its workers.
Advocates react to President Biden’s proposed asylum ban: ‘Our families deserve dignity and respect’
At a recent rally near the base of the Washington Monument, immigrant advocates gathered to demand that the Biden Administration back off its plans to institute an asylum ban for many applicants as well as a possible return to the practice of family detention, frequently used during the Trump era.
CHN’s latest Human Needs Report: An in-depth look at President Biden’s FY24 budget proposal
CHN just released another edition of the Human Needs Report. Read on for a comprehensive look at President Biden’s FY24 budget proposal.