Social Security at 90: Three Truths and A Terrible Trumpy Lie About One of America’s Greatest Economic Programs
August 14, 2025
The latest Human Needs Report: budget steps, disaster aid stalled, food assistance threatened, Dreamers update, and more
Leo Nguyen,
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.
Religious freedom advocates call on elected officials to protect the ability to practice faith without fear
David Elliot,
April 4, 2019
More than 140 religious liberty advocates have signed on to a letter asking elected officials to ensure that individuals and communities are able to practice their religion without fear for their physical safety. Among the letter’s signers was CHN Executive Director Deborah Weinstein. The letter was delivered today to the White House and to leaders in Congress. The letter cited recent attacks in the U.S., New Zealand and Canada.
CLASP applauds court’s decision to protect Medicaid in Arkansas and Kentucky
Renato Rocha,
April 1, 2019
Yesterday, the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia blocked the Trump Administration’s attempt to take away health coverage from people who can’t document new work reporting requirements in Kentucky and Arkansas. The judge concluded that the administration’s approvals of these new requirements were “arbitrary and capricious.”
What’s next for the ACA?
David Elliot,
March 29, 2019
There’s a lot to unpack from President Trump’s decision, announced earlier this week, to join a federal lawsuit that seeks to overturn the Affordable Care Act in its entirety. Not surprisingly, the decision drew criticism from defenders of the ACA. What is noteworthy, however, is the volume of criticism coming from other sources – right-wing legal scholars, Republican senators, and even the Republican attorney general of Ohio, who announced he is intervening to oppose the Administration.
