Every year, the Coalition on Human needs compares funding for well over 150 human needs programs starting in FY 2010 and continuing to the current fiscal year (this year, 2019). CHN uses FY 2010 as a benchmark because that is the year before the Budget Control Act passed Congress and was signed into law by President Obama. That law called for automatic cuts in spending if Congress could not curtail spending on its own.This year, CHN tracked spending for 184 human needs programs. CHN found that 131 of the programs, or 71 percent, lost ground since FY 2010. And 54 programs were cut by 25 percent or more.
Archives: Voices
Trump officials step up attacks on Medicaid; meanwhile, CBPP pushes back on work requirement claims
The Trump Administration is expanding its attacks on Medicaid – and, by extension, the Affordable Care Act – even as courts consider whether the moves constitute executive branch overreach. The Administration is pushing ahead and granting approval to states seeking to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients, despite ongoing legal challenges and large-scale losses in the number of people covered. The Administration also is quietly trying to sell states on the merits of imposing block grants, or a per-person spending cap, without congressional approval.
For Puerto Rico, NAP aid could happen soon – but another dark cloud looms
When Congress returns next week, senators are tentatively scheduled to consider a measure that could extend $600 million in emergency nutrition assistance to Puerto Rico. About half of the 1.35 million Puerto Ricans who receive NAP benefits began experiencing cuts earlier this month; by today – Friday, March 22 – all 1.35 million recipients will be feeling the cuts.
Human Needs Report: Trump budget, crisis in Puerto Rico, battle over emergency order at the border, and more
CHN just released another edition of the Human Needs Report. Read on for a detailed analysis of President Trump’s FY20 budget request, plus the latest on the loss of food aid for millions, the Trump emergency declaration, a new bill to protect Dreamers, and more.
For the sake of families, we must reduce the cost of child care
The cost of child care is generating an economic and moral crisis within the United States. With yearly prices soaring above the cost of in-state college tuition in 28 states, parents are forced to spend large portions of their income on child care at a time when they have accumulated little wealth.
Puerto Rico: A recovery in reverse?
For the Puerto Rican coastal community of Loiza, the hits just keep coming. First there was Hurricane Irma, which sideswiped the eastern part of the island, where Loiza is located, late at night on Sept. 4, 2017. Not even two weeks later, Hurricane Maria came ashore, scoring an even more direct hit than Irma, and once again, Loiza absorbed the worst of the storm’s fury. Now the community faces a new threat as residents face cuts to their Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
CHN on President Trump’s “Bully’s Budget”
President Trump’s budget for FY 2020 is consistent with his presidency so far. It is all about denying help to those who lack power or wealth and lavishing advantage to those who have both.
‘Money for a wall…no food for the people’
Waldemiro Velez Soto of San Juan, Puerto Rico didn’t know his family’s food rations were being cut. Velez Soto and his family survive off of their NAP benefits. (NAP is Puerto Rico’s version of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.) With few jobs available in Puerto Rico, Velez Soto cannot earn enough for him and his family to survive. And based on our conversation, he is not the only Puerto Rican forced to live like this.
Victory against harmful citizenship question
A second federal judge blocked the Trump Administration from including a question about citizenship status on the decennial Census, saying, “The inclusion of the citizenship question on the 2020 Census threatens the very foundation of our democratic system.”
For Puerto Rico, the disasters keep coming
A new crisis is sweeping across Puerto Rico. Unlike Hurricanes Maria and Irma, however, this one is entirely man-made. More than one out of every three Puerto Ricans receives benefits from the island’s Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP), the island’s version of SNAP (once known as food stamps). Earlier this month, however, recipients began receiving sharp cuts in benefits because Congress has failed to extend assistance that was first approved as part of post-hurricane recovery.
Upcoming Webinar: The Trump Budget — What You Need to Know
Upcoming Webinar: The Trump Budget — What You Need to Know Thursday, March 14th 2 P.M. EDT, 1 P.M. CDT, 12 P.M. MDT, 11 A.M. PDT Register Here Even if you can’t attend, you should register to get access to the webinar recording with captions, slides, and follow-up information. Each…
The Human Needs Report: FY20 budget talks, potential loss of food aid for millions, immigration battles, and more
CHN just released another edition of the Human Needs Report. Read on for the latest on early FY20 budget talks, the potential loss of food aid for millions, a blow to low-income consumers, ongoing immigration battles, and more.