Summer’s here. It’s a great time to agitate!
David Elliot,
June 16, 2023
Next Monday marks Juneteenth, a holiday for many, including CHN. And Wednesday is the first day of summer, also known as the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere. It’s also traditionally a time when CHN member groups and allies pack the calendar with opportunities to make our voices heard.
An Urgent Cry to Address Youth Mental Health.
Siobhan Davenport,
June 13, 2023
On February 11, 2022, Orli Sheffey died by suicide. Orli, a sophomore at Washington University in St. Louis, was an involved student on our campus: writing for the school newspaper Stud-Life, an aspiring Uncle Joe’s peer mental health counselor, and an advocate for Planned Parenthood and WashU votes. Her death shook our entire campus, as students were shocked that someone who was an advocate for mental health and a presence on this campus was suddenly gone.
Hundreds of thousands are losing Medicaid benefits – even though they still qualify
David Elliot,
June 9, 2023
A recent analysis has found that more than 600,000 Americans have lost Medicaid coverage since April 1 as states resume requiring proof of continued eligibility in order to remain on the Medicaid rolls. This massive effort to determine the eligibility of millions of Medicaid beneficiaries has been triggered by the end of the pandemic public health emergency; it’s known as the “Medicaid unwinding.”
American Family Act would bring back expanded Child Tax Credit, make other improvements
David Elliot,
June 8, 2023
More than 200 House members this week signed on to legislation that would once again expand the Child Tax Credit, a move that would comprehensively reduce child poverty in the U.S. The American Family Act (AFA) was introduced Wednesday by Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), and Ritchie Torres (D-NY). The legislation comes as House Republicans are preparing to bring forth legislation to extend some Trump tax cuts passed in 2017, including cuts favored by large corporations.
We, the Hostages: Disappointments in The Fiscal Responsibility Act — Statement on Behalf of the Coalition on Human Needs
Deborah Weinstein,
May 30, 2023
We the hostages appreciate the Biden Administration’s efforts to reduce the severity of these cuts and restrictions. But it is still a great disappointment that the basic thrust of this agreement is still to deny assistance to some of our poorest people. It will reduce investments that we badly need to overcome the worsening affordable housing crisis for low-income renters, to help students overcome the learning deficits that worsened during the pandemic, and to address mental health and substance use crises. It allows increases in the Pentagon without examining the evidence of military contractor price-gouging. It not only fails to secure new revenues from wealthy individuals and corporations, it undermines the IRS’ capacity to collect taxes already owed from those with high incomes.
