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

Poverty in Maine: Lack of Progress and New Threats Ahead
November 17, 2017

Nationwide poverty rates have dropped for several years in a row; this is good news. But Maine is not sharing in the progress being made in other parts of the country; in fact, it has been heading in the wrong direction for the past several years. Significant cuts to services in our state have left thousands of Mainers behind. And actions being considered by Congress and the Trump administration threaten to push even more of our neighbors into poverty.

Poverty and Progress: The State of Being Poor in New York and New Threats Ahead
November 15, 2017

Sustained economic gains and strong federal and state programs have led to welcome progress in the fight against poverty over the last several years. New York is finally seeing poverty rates edge downwards. This is good news. But poverty in New York remains higher than it was before the Great Recession, and actions by Congress and the Trump administration threaten to weaken the very programs that have contributed to progress made so far.

Poverty and Progress: The State of Being Poor in Wisconsin and New Threats Ahead
November 8, 2017

Sustained economic gains and strong federal and state programs have led to welcome progress in the fight against poverty over the last several years. Wisconsin is finally seeing poverty rates edge downwards. This is good news. But poverty in Wisconsin remains higher than it was before the Great Recession, and actions by Congress and the Trump administration threaten to weaken the very programs that have contributed to progress made so far.