Archives: Voices

Who qualifies for the new $600 stimulus payments? 

Just days after Christmas, some Americans awoke to a nice surprise: the new $600 stimulus payments had begun to show up in their bank accounts via direct deposit. While smaller than some advocates had hoped for, in some ways, this stimulus program was superior to the $1,200 checks approved by Congress last spring. One reason why: unlike what was passed last time around, mixed status families are now eligible for the payments – not only that, but they retroactively qualify for the $1,200 payments that were denied them last time.

Anti-hunger advocates praise Congress for nutrition assistance, but warn more will be needed 

Food scarcity – already a problem in the U.S. in pre-pandemic times – is on the rise. We’ve all seen the miles-long lines of cars waiting to receive assistance at food banks. This holiday season, numerous major media outlets have published or aired stories about Americans going hungry, including all of the major TV networks. So it came as good news when Congress on Monday, December 21 voted on a COVID-19 relief package that includes $26 billion for nutrition assistance and agriculture and rural programs.

CHN Urges Swift Enactment of COVID-19 relief package, calling it “long overdue”

The nation is in an emergency, and the COVID relief bill Congress has worked out is long overdue and must pass. This is urgently needed emergency relief, but it is far from all that is needed. The pandemic’s impact on our nation’s health and economy has been harsh and the recovery will not be swift.  In January, the new Biden-Harris Administration and the new Congress must immediately work to remedy the failings and expand the important help about to be provided.

Community colleges and COVID-19: A disturbing educational opportunity gap is emerging 

Last August, Paige McConnell became the first in her family to enroll in college, signing up for classes at Tennessee’s Roane State Community College. Two weeks later, she dropped out. McConnell could not make online classes work for her. She does not have WiFi at her rural home in Crossville, Tenn. She tried to go to the library, but their services were curtailed due to the pandemic. She even spent hours in a McDonald’s parking lot, using the restaurant’s Internet, but she kept getting kicked off the network. McConnell is hardly alone. Enrollment in every sector of undergraduate higher education is down this fall – but the decline is being felt most sharply among community colleges.

CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship December 17, 2020

The come together right now edition. A deal is said to be in the works, and it can’t arrive fast enough to stave off the misery plaguing millions of Americans – and millions more to come if Congress does not act immediately. A new study out this week shows 7.8 million Americans slipped into poverty over a five-month period that began when government aid dwindled last summer. That’s the first time that has happened in single year in the 60 years we’ve been collecting data on poverty. And more bad news is coming if Congress doesn’t act.

Experts: Corporate immunity would increase spread of COVID-19 while gutting workplace safety, civil rights and worker protection laws

Advocates for consumers, patients, and workers came together this week to warn against a sweeping and unprecedented proposal in Congress that would use the COVID-19 crisis as an excuse to grant corporations broad immunity against violations of workplace safety guidelines as well as civil and legal rights. The proposal is favored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and major corporations, but is opposed by a growing coalition of groups that represent essential workers, nursing home residents and staff, people with disabilities, and many others.

CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship December 11, 2020

Disaster Relief or Disaster edition. We were starting to feel encouraged. A bipartisan group of Senators came up with a COVID package that is essentially short-term disaster relief. More will be needed. But the disaster we’re in keeps worsening, and you wouldn’t think senators would be willing to go home for the holidays with 12 million workers losing unemployment aid on December 26 and eviction moratorium and paid leave expiring just in time for New Year’s. But Mitch McConnell continues to preside over a caucus that seems prepared to do the unthinkable.

For state and local employees, a winter of discontent – and beyond – is approaching 

When the reality of a coronavirus pandemic struck home last March, many state and local governments were quick to take action, slashing budgets and planning for painful layoffs and furloughs. The damage was mitigated, in part, by two factors: healthy, pre-pandemic economies, and the CARES Act, which provided $150 billion in state and local aid. Still, 1.3 million public-sector jobs were lost during an eight-month period. Those jobs, for the most part, have not come back. And now, heading into the new year and beyond, state budget experts say things are about to get worse. 

Census survey reveals COVID-19’s devastating impact on Missouri

Hundreds of thousands of Missourians are struggling to get by during our coronavirus public health emergency, including children, according to the recently released U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey. While 40.8 percent of Missouri households report losing income since March, families with children under 18 have been especially impacted, with 51.4 percent reporting income loss. COVID-19 has hit Missouri hard, but Black Missourians and other people of color have been hit especially hard.

CHN’s COVID-19: Tracking Hardship December 4, 2020

The #ReliefCan’tWait edition. The U.S. this week set three alarming records. New COVID-19 cases surpassed 200,000 in a single day, hospitalizations reached 100,000, and Wednesday’s death rate was nearly 2,900 – all firsts. Meanwhile, millions of Americans are teetering on an economic cliff. By Dec. 26th, 16 million Americans will have lost unemployment benefits. On New Year’s Eve, the CDC’s eviction moratorium will expire. Other help set to expire as we approach the end of the year: student loan debt relief and some paid family leave.

With deadlines approaching, CHN urges swift passage of COVID-19 relief 

The Coalition on Human Needs this week urged Congress to quickly approve a COVID-19 relief package, even as millions of Americans face the loss of unemployment benefits as well as a roof over their heads. “This cannot wait,” the letter states. “The eviction moratorium and pandemic unemployment insurance expire by the end of December. COVID-19 cases are surging, with more than 200,000 cases reported on December 2 and hospitals dangerously overstretched.”