Feature: Letters to Congress

National Group Sign-On Letter Urges Congress to Quickly Enact No Less Than American Rescue Plan
February 5, 2021

On February 4th, over 100 national organizations including the Coalition on Human Needs called on the United States Congress to enact swiftly no less than what is called for in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan. Without speedy and comprehensive action, "...families that could have managed will be pushed into poverty and deaths that could have been avoided due to the pandemic will occur."

CHN letter to all U.S. Senators demands COVID-19 relief
September 25, 2020

CHN on Friday, Sept. 25 sent a letter to all 100 U.S. Senators demanding COVID-19 relief. It reads in part, "The pandemic has imperiled your constituents’ economic well-being and their health. COVID-19 cases are again rising, and as we enter the colder months, the threat will increase. The moratorium on evictions expires at the end of the year. If you leave now without acting, millions of people, unable to come up with one or more months of unpaid rent, will face eviction."

CHN’s letter to all members of the U.S. Senate urging Senators to extend U.S. Census reporting deadlines
August 10, 2020

CHN's letter to all members of the U.S. Senate urging Senators to extend statutory reporting deadlines for apportionment and redistricting data for the 2020 Census to April 30, 2021, extend the deadline to transmit state population totals to that date, prohibit the Bureau and the President from sending the relevant data to the Congress in advance of those deadlines, and to allocate $400 million to address Census Bureau operational challenges.

MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS

AFSCME’s Critical issues to be addressed in fourth round of coronavirus legislation
April 14, 2020

AFSCME's Critical issues to be addressed in fourth round of coronavirus legislation

CHN submits comments to OMB on poverty measure; requests an extension on comment period
April 14, 2020

On April 14, CHN submitted comments to the Office on Management and Budget in opposition to proposals by the Trump Administration to change the way poverty is measured. CHN also urged OMB to extend the comment period. CHN wrote that "the COVID-19 pandemic is taking up most of our attention, and that of our members, other service providers and advocates, and the academic research community. It is an urgent priority for staff at the Office of Management and Budget as well. The comment period for consideration of additional poverty research measures should be extended or reopened until at least one month after the conclusion of the state of emergency."

CHN: The CARES Act — Necessary but Not Sufficient to Prevent a Depression
March 27, 2020

With over 3 million unemployment claims reported this week, it has become starkly apparent that the nation faces an economic depression. Congress will enact a $2 trillion package intended to lessen the harshness of the downturn. The CARES Act takes some important steps towards responding to the combined health and economic crises, and the Coalition on Human Needs supports it. But it does not do enough, and Congress will have to return to ensure that the people most in need – and whose aid will do the most to spur recovery – get adequate help.