Building the American Dream: a documentary
David Elliot,
April 12, 2019
By one measurement, Texas is home to four of the nation’s five fastest-growing cities with populations over 50,000. That creates a tremendous need for new housing, which in turn opens up a lot of construction jobs. There are about one million construction workers in Texas, almost half of whom are undocumented workers. "Building the American Dream" lays out just how vulnerable those workers are. Two of the most common problems are wage theft and job safety.
Register now: May 2 webinar on Trump Administration’s effort to repeal payday lending protections
David Elliot,
April 10, 2019
Join the Coalition on Human Needs and Americans for Financial Reform for a webinar that will tell you all about rules that protect consumers from payday loans and other forms of predatory financing - and how the Trump Administration is trying to repeal those protections. The webinar is May 2 at 2 p.m. ET, 11 a.m. on the west coast. During the webinar, you'll learn how to slow down the Administration’s efforts by commenting on the dangers of their proposal.
“Judge Flores…Judge Flores…Where are you when we need you?”
David Elliot,
April 10, 2019
Complaining about a build-up of migrants at the border while visiting Calexico last week, President Trump blamed the build-up on “some very bad court decisions,” singling out the “Flores decision” as a “disaster.” I have to tell you, Judge Flores, whoever you may be, that decision is a disaster for our country,” Trump said. Problem: “Flores,” in this context, is not a judge. She was a 15-year-old girl named Jenny Lisette Flores, who fled El Salvador in the 1980s and was detained upon trying to enter the U.S. to live with her aunt.
The latest Human Needs Report: budget steps, disaster aid stalled, food assistance threatened, Dreamers update, and more
Lecia Imbery,
April 9, 2019
CHN just released another edition of the Human Needs Report. Read on for a the latest on Congress's budget and spending work, stalled disaster aid for Puerto Rico, the loss of food assistance for millions, a new bill to protect Dreamers, and more.
Op-ed: Why Congress must lift the spending caps to help low-income families
CHN Staff,
April 5, 2019
Every year, the Coalition on Human needs compares funding for well over 150 human needs programs starting in fiscal year 2010 and continuing to the current fiscal year (this year, 2019). CHN uses 2010 as a benchmark because that is the year before the Budget Control Act passed Congress and was signed into law by President Obama. That law called for automatic cuts in spending if Congress could not curtail spending on its own. This year, CHN tracked spending for 184 human needs programs. CHN found that 131 of the programs, or 71 percent, lost ground since 2010. And 54 programs were cut by 25 percent or more.
