Demand Congress use its “power of the purse” to hold Trump accountable
Article 1, Section 9, Clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution says: “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.”
The President of the United States does not have unlimited authority to decline congressional appropriations and decide what gets funded and by how much depending on his whims and which political adversaries he wants to punish.
By hijacking congressionally appropriated funds, Donald Trump and Elon Musk (and his unqualified, unscreened team) are yanking funding from people and programs in our communities―which will have a real impact on many of our neighbors as they face frozen funding for critical human needs programs that people rely on to survive.
Congress must stand up to stop this lawless power grab.
Of course we know President Trump wants to build a border wall. Yesterday he threatened to shut down the government over funding for it. But that’s not his Administration’s only priority. Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin announced that they’re studying whether they can provide another $100 billion tax break…
This week, 131 groups, including the Coalition on Human Needs, joined two lawsuits aimed at preventing the U.S. Commerce Department from including a citizenship question in the 2020 Census. The moves come as CHN, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and a broad host of other grassroots, advocacy,…
The People’s Budget: A Progressive Path Forward Progressive leaders in Congress Tuesday unveiled an ambitious budget plan that may not receive an up-or-down vote this year, but serves as a stark contrast to budget proposals advanced by President Trump and the House GOP leadership. The People’s Budget: A Progressive Path…
CHN just released another edition of the Human Needs Report. Read on for the latest on the House Labor-H bill and other FY19 spending, migrant family separations, proposed SNAP cuts, reactions to the Supreme Court nominee, threats to the ACA, and more. Click here for a PDF version. …
The Coalition on Human Needs and close to two hundred advocates celebrated CHN’s 15th annual Human Needs Hero reception Thursday, July 19. CHN’s honorees this year represented the surge of activism that has swept across the country over the past 18 months. They included: Helen Blank of the National Women’s…
Check out this video, reminding us of the importance of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – very timely on the day Kathy Kraninger is having her confirmation hearing to head it.
The CHN office is always a flurry of activity. With a small staff and so much to do to protect and expand basic needs programs that help our low-income neighbors, there’s no time to sit still. This week is even busier as we take care of final preparations for our Human Needs Hero…
The Trump Administration has started to reunite children torn from their parents at the border, partly complying with a judge’s order. Fifty-eight out of 103 children under the age of five have been returned to their parents. Thousands of children five and older must be reunited with their parents by…
Editor’s note: This piece was written by Rev. Jennifer Butler, CEO of Faith in Public Life. It was originally published on Patheos on July 11. President Trump’s top spiritual advisor, Paula White, has been justifying the President’s crusade to torture immigrant children by ripping them from their parent’s arms and stalling…
“Believe me, I love babies.” – then-candidate Donald Trump, at a campaign rally in 2016. I can almost hear Donald Trump’s voice in my head saying a line that easily could have followed the one above: “No one loves babies more than I do.” But if Candidate Trump really loved babies, something…
There is good news and bad news to report when it comes to food insecurity among households with children, according to a new analysis released by the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institute. The good news: food insecurity in the U.S. continues to decline. The bad news: the rate remains…
Editor’s note: Deborah Weinstein, Executive Director of the Coalition on Human Needs, issued the following statement Tuesday, July 10 in response to the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court: “The nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court poses grave risks to workers, consumers, and…