On September 20, the House approved a stopgap spending bill (continuing resolution) for FY 2014, H J Res 59, that defunded implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) while extending government operations through December 15. The 230-189 vote was predominately along party lines with only two Democrats, Mike McIntyre (NC) and Jim Matheson (UT), voting for the resolution, with a lone Republican, Scott Rigell (VA) voting in opposition. The two Democrats opposed the ACA. Rigell, also an opponent of the ACA, voted against the resolution because he opposes short-term continuing resolutions. Read More »
Officially, the Great Recession ended in 2009. But after three years of “recovery,” there were 6.7 million more people living in poverty than in 2008, a recession year. We’ve been stuck with 15 percent of our people in poverty for three years. In the 2008 recession year, 13.2 percent were poor. Forty-six million poor people is a big and troubling number. But that is only part of the story of unshared recovery. More than one-third of us – 106 million people – are near poor, living one lay-off or health disaster away from very hard times. (For a family of four, if your income was below $23,492 you were considered poor in 2012; near poor is defined as below $46,984 for a family of four, or below $36,568 for a three-person family.) Read More »
Most youth programs could continue operating through the short-term, but an extended government shutdown could have a much greater impact, say advocates in the field. “Most youth programs have experienced some cuts due to sequestration, on top of other federal cuts, since 2010,” Deborah Weinstein, executive director of the Coalition on Human Needs, said in Read More »
NPR recently published a story that gives undue credence to a Cato Institute study lamenting the generosity of US safety net programs. In reality, welfare benefits are not nearly as generous or accessible as the study claims. The NPR piece provides useful stories from actual welfare recipients, whose experiences more faithfully represent reality. Read More »
NPR recently published a story that gives undue credence to a Cato Institute study lamenting the generosity of US safety net programs. In reality, welfare benefits are not nearly as generous or accessible as the study claims. The NPR piece provides useful stories from actual welfare recipients, whose experiences more faithfully represent reality. Read More »
Good people can disagree on many issues, but it’s hard to defend taking food away from hungry children. Yet that’s exactly what Republicans in the House of Representatives are trying to do with a plan up for a vote this week that would cut deeply into the nation’s nutritional aid program. Such a cut would not only be heartless, but foolish too, since food assistance boosts the economy and pays off big dividends in improved child health and achievement. Read More »
Enrollment in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as “Obamacare,” got off to a robust start on October 1 when 2.8 million people went to the www.HealthCare.gov website and millions more visited state-specific websites to explore their options. The latest census data indicates that in 2012 nearly 48 million Americans, or 15.4 percent, were uninsured. Read More »
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Latest Edition: October 7, 2013
Read articles from the October 7 edition, including pieces on appropriations, health care, immigration and family leave. Read More »
