On Wednesday, May 22, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) and the Coalition on Human Needs will host a webinar entitled, “The Latest Plan to Deny Assistance: Shrinking the Poverty Line.”

The webinar will take place at 2 p.m. ET, and will last one hour. Closed captioning will be provided. You can register here.

The Trump Administration has put forth a proposal to change the way poverty is adjusted for inflation. Over time, this adjustment would reduce funding for essential human needs programs by billions of dollars. Millions of Americans would be affected, including children, seniors, people with disabilities, and others who are poor or near poor. The proposal is now in the public comment period, and members of the public with concerns have until June 21 to submit comments.

CBPP states that the proposal “would over time cut or take away entirely food assistance, health, and other forms of basic assistance from millions of people who struggle to put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads, and see a doctor when they need to.”

“If the poverty line is altered in this fashion, fewer individuals and families will qualify over time for various forms of assistance, including many who work hard but are paid low wages,” CBPP states. “That’s because using a lower measure of inflation like the chained CPI to adjust the poverty line each year would make the eligibility thresholds for various programs that serve people in need lower and lower over time, compared with what the thresholds otherwise would be. This, in turn, would lower the income eligibility limits for programs like SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) and Medicaid, which are tied to the federal poverty line. It also would reduce the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) premium tax credits — and thereby increase the out-of-pocket premium charges faced by millions of people who purchase health insurance through the ACA marketplaces.”

Even if you cannot make the webinar, by registering, you will automatically receive the webinar slides, a recording of the webinar, and a follow-up email with links to a CHN webpage with resources and easy ways to comment. Register here.