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The Human Needs Report is the Coalition on Human Needs'
newsletter on national policy issues affecting low-income and vulnerable
populations. It is published every other week while Congress is
in session.
If you would like to receive the Human Needs Report by email,
send an message to Adam Hughes with "subscibe
Human Needs Report" in the subject line.
- Head Start Passes House with State Block Grant Pilot Intact
The House passed the Republican-sponsored Head Start reauthorization bill (HR 2210) in the early morning hours of Friday, July 25, by a vote of 217-216. The very close vote was evidence that all the phone calls, letters and lobbying by Head Start advocates paid off. After weeks of Republican leadership wrangling for votes, several moderates bucked their leadership and refused to vote for a bill that would dismantle a 30 year old program that works. The most controversial piece of the House bill - a paired down version of the Administration's plan - would allow a block grant pilot project to divert federal Head Start funding to eight states and reduce federal quality standards. HR 2210 would turn control of Head Start over to the states at a time when states are facing record budget shortfalls and are cutting state funds for early childhood education. For more information about the bill, see the Save Head Start webpage.
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- Mixed Results for Section 8 on House Floor
Advocates of the Section 8 voucher program, the largest public housing program, scored a small victory on the House floor last week when the Nadler-Velazquez amendment to boost voucher funding by $150 million
passed 217 - 208 . The money, included in the fiscal year 2004 VA-HUD appropriations bill (HR 2861), would be taken from the HUD working capitol fund that provides information technology in housing programs.
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- Employment Trends: Good and Bad News for July
The unemployment rate declined to 6.2 percent in July, down from 6.4 percent in June. The reduction did not occur because there were more people working. In fact, there were 260,000 fewer employed in July than in June. The decline in unemployment occurred because of a continued reduction in the number of people counted in the labor force. The civilian labor force dropped by 556,000 in July. People who have not looked for work over the past 4 weeks are not counted in the unemployment totals. These are defined as "discouraged workers." Some of these workers would start looking again if the economy picked up; their absence from the unemployment statistic understates the actual number of people who want jobs but cannot find them.
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