Human Needs Report

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.

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Articles from October 28, 2005

• House Committees Slash Medicaid, Child Support, SSI, and Foster Care; Reduce Planned Increases for Child Care
  The House launched an unprecedented attack on services that aid low-income families and vulnerable people this week, passing several bills to cut Medicaid, Food Stamps, foster care, child support collections, student aid and Supplemental Security Income for poor elderly and disabled.
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• Senate Budget Committee Approves Nearly $40 Billion in Cuts to Entitlement Programs
  On Thursday, October 27, the Senate Budget committee approved a bill that cuts a net $39.1 billion over the next five years. Next week the Senate will debate and vote on the measure that cuts Medicaid, Medicare, agriculture subsidies, student loans, pensions and other entitlement spending.
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• Senate Approves Labor-HHS-Education Spending Bill
  By a vote of 94 to 3 the Senate approved a bill to fund the Departments of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services on Thursday, October 27. The bill provides a total of $142.5 billion in discretionary funding for such wide ranging programs as K-12 education, education for children with disabilities, child care, community health centers, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP), and workforce training.
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• White House Forced to Back Down on Davis-Bacon Wage Protections
  The Bush Administration on Wednesday, October 26, reinstated a rule requiring contractors of the federal government to pay prevailing local wages to its employees. The rule, mandated by the Davis Bacon Act enacted over 70 years ago, was suspended in Gulf Coast states after Hurricane Katrina when the Administration claimed that recovery and reconstruction would be more efficient without the wage protection in place.
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• House Passes "GSE" Bill -- With Provision Designed to Reduce Voting Among the Poor
  The House of Representatives on Wednesday, October 26 passed legislation reforming the regulation of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The bill created an affordable housing fund long sought by advocates -- along with a provision that will reduce political participation by low-income people.
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• Congress Enacts Legislation to Extend Medicare Premium Subsidies and Transitional Medicaid;
  Also Shores Up Shrinking Unemployment Funds for Gulf States
  Nearly a month after allowing the subsidy for Medicare Part B premiums for low-income seniors to expire, Congress enacted Public Law 109-91, which extends the program through September 2007.
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• Final Conference Agreement on WIC Spending Approved In House
  The House of Representatives on October 28 adopted the agriculture appropriations conference report by a vote of 318-63. This came a day after the House and Senate conferees reported the bill, which includes $17.1 billion in discretionary spending (money that Congress has to approve each year).
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