More than 250 Organizations Urge the House to Prioritize Children’s Safety in FY26 DHS Appropriations Vote
March 5, 2026
Anti-hunger advocates praise Congress for nutrition assistance, but warn more will be needed
David Elliot,
December 24, 2020
Food scarcity – already a problem in the U.S. in pre-pandemic times – is on the rise. We’ve all seen the miles-long lines of cars waiting to receive assistance at food banks. This holiday season, numerous major media outlets have published or aired stories about Americans going hungry, including all of the major TV networks. So it came as good news when Congress on Monday, December 21 voted on a COVID-19 relief package that includes $26 billion for nutrition assistance and agriculture and rural programs.
CHN’s latest Human Needs Report: Detailing the COVID-19 relief package, and 2021 appropriations
Deborah Weinstein,
December 23, 2020
CHN just released another edition of the Human Needs Report. Read on for the latest about the COVID relief and full-year funding legislation from Congress, and President Trump's objections on the package.
CHN Urges Swift Enactment of COVID-19 relief package, calling it “long overdue”
CHN Staff,
December 21, 2020
The nation is in an emergency, and the COVID relief bill Congress has worked out is long overdue and must pass. This is urgently needed emergency relief, but it is far from all that is needed. The pandemic’s impact on our nation’s health and economy has been harsh and the recovery will not be swift. In January, the new Biden-Harris Administration and the new Congress must immediately work to remedy the failings and expand the important help about to be provided.
Community colleges and COVID-19: A disturbing educational opportunity gap is emerging
David Elliot,
December 18, 2020
Last August, Paige McConnell became the first in her family to enroll in college, signing up for classes at Tennessee’s Roane State Community College. Two weeks later, she dropped out. McConnell could not make online classes work for her. She does not have WiFi at her rural home in Crossville, Tenn. She tried to go to the library, but their services were curtailed due to the pandemic. She even spent hours in a McDonald’s parking lot, using the restaurant’s Internet, but she kept getting kicked off the network. McConnell is hardly alone. Enrollment in every sector of undergraduate higher education is down this fall – but the decline is being felt most sharply among community colleges.
CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship December 17, 2020
CHN Staff,
December 17, 2020
The come together right now edition. A deal is said to be in the works, and it can’t arrive fast enough to stave off the misery plaguing millions of Americans – and millions more to come if Congress does not act immediately. A new study out this week shows 7.8 million Americans slipped into poverty over a five-month period that began when government aid dwindled last summer. That’s the first time that has happened in single year in the 60 years we’ve been collecting data on poverty. And more bad news is coming if Congress doesn’t act.
