Sixty years ago this week, President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) took a historic step forward in our nation’s fight against poverty, signing the historic Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and marking the beginning of the War on Poverty. Alongside civil rights and anti-poverty leaders, policymakers envisioned a country that lived up to its ideals of opportunity, democracy, and a fair chance for every child.
Archives: Voices
Child exploitation and Project 2025: Rewriting the Fair Labor Standards Act
Eighty-six years ago, Congress passed and President Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act. It outlawed, among other things, the practice of children working in hazardous occupations. But today, violations of the FLSA, particularly involving children, are sharply on the rise. And there are those who want to take us back even farther.
Babies in the Budget 2024: New report finds share of spending on children continues to decline
For the third straight year, the share of federal spending on children ages 0-3 declined in fiscal year 2024. That’s according to First Focus on Children, which just released its annual report, and found that the percentage of federal dollars going to programs that wholly or partly serve young children dropped from 1.98% in FY 2021 to just 1.52% in FY 2024.
CHN’s Human Needs Watch: Tracking Hardship, August 2, 2024
The compare and contrast edition. This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee all but completed marking up its 12 appropriations bills – it has one left to go (Homeland Security), which they plan to finish when members return after the August recess. House appropriators completed their 12 mark-ups last month, but their bills are going nowhere fast.
CHN urges Senate passage of bipartisan Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act
We urge the Senate to consider and ultimately pass this bipartisan tax package at the first opportunity because it includes important improvements to the Child Tax Credit (CTC). We see Thursday’s vote as a crucial step. You can act to provide needed help for 16 million children in families with low wages, or you can stand in the way of moving this help forward.
CHN hosts Human Needs Hero gala, honors CBPP’s Ellen Nissenbaum
Hundreds of advocates crowded into a standing-room-only event at the AFL-CIO headquarters last week as the Coalition on Human Needs celebrated its annual Human Needs Hero gala by honoring one of the movement’s foremost leaders on budget, tax, and related battles.
Human needs advocates gather in U.S. Capitol to oppose House spending cuts
Led by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, advocates gathered earlier this week to warn of the effects of proposed cuts to human needs programs. The speakers, including advocates for human needs, education, the environment, labor and public health, among others, warned of both dangerous spending cuts and harmful and discriminatory policy riders sprinkled throughout all 12 fiscal year 2025 House spending bills.
Statement by CHN on the announcement that President Biden will not seek a second term
President Biden and his Administration have achieved historic advances towards meeting our vital needs. We applaud his accomplishments and thank him for his continued service to the nation.
It’s time for a child allowance, no strings attached
During the pandemic, the expanded Child Tax Credit was a lifeline for millions of families. However, I was one of the many who couldn’t benefit from it. Why? At 15, I gave my baby to family members. But because the adoption was never finalized, I actually ended up owing child support — and only found out after it had compounded. Because of that debt, I was unfairly denied the Child Tax Credit for the children I later had with my husband.
The unbearable sting and pain of Grants Pass
I loved the library as a child. The library was my safe place, especially in the summer, when schools were also closed. But sometimes, the libraries were closed. I could count on most libraries being closed on Sundays. Even when they were open, as a child, sometimes I wanted to play outside. Whenever I wanted to play outside, my mom would pile every single one of our earthly belongings into a shopping cart, and we would go to the park. We were always clean, but with our piles of bags, it was obvious we were homeless.
The Challenge of Our Time: Use Democracy; Reject Violence
Once more we were witnesses to shocking violence as a man with an assault rifle injured former President Trump, killed Corey Comperatore and sent David Dutch and James Copenhaver to the hospital with serious injuries. We mourn the death of Mr. Comperatore and hope for the speedy recovery of the injured.
CHN’s Human Needs Watch: Tracking Hardship, July 12, 2024
The (mis)appropriations Edition. The House Appropriations Committee has now passed all 12 of its appropriations bills. The picture is not pretty, but most of them face an unclear future.