America’s drug addiction epidemic is a real emergency. Let’s treat it like one.
Don Mathis,
January 5, 2024
Some congressional critics, ultra-conservative think tanks, and certain media vehemently dispute the need for domestic funds and services. Not real emergencies, they say. For those of us committed to social justice and providing essential human services that these funds support, it's disheartening to hear the bogus, self-righteous arguments made in opposition to our advocacy efforts.
Voices for Human Needs: A quick look at 2023 in review
David Elliot,
December 28, 2023
A special note to our readers: In 2023, we avoided a number of disasters on the human needs front. There was no government shutdown. There was no default on the national debt. In most instances, we avoided debilitating cuts in government funding to the programs that so many people depend on. Right-wingers in Congress threatened massive cuts and default, but their efforts were turned back, for this year, at least.
Celebrating the resilience of low-income women
Karen Dolan,
December 22, 2023
It’s been a difficult few years for poor people in this country. Just a year after the pandemic era safety net expansion saw poverty fall to its lowest level on record, we saw a historic 60 percent increase as those programs expired. Women and children have been among the hardest hit. In 2022, the last year we have data for, at least 32 million women and children were living in poverty. Despite that hardship, I feel some hope.
Advocates warn of the cost of cutting IRS funding
David Elliot,
December 21, 2023
The Coalition on Human Needs and more than 50 groups sent a letter to House and Senate leaders warning of proposed cuts to the IRS – cuts that would harm the agency’s ability to provide customer service and pursue wealthy tax cheats while actually increasing the nation’s deficit.
Advocates sound alarm on negotiations that could alter border policy, harm immigrants
David Elliot,
December 15, 2023
Immigrant advocacy groups and other human rights activists are sounding the alarm as policymakers seek ways to push through permanent and substantial changes to immigration policy in a supplemental funding measure that would provide billions in international aid. Republicans are holding up the measure unless President Biden agrees to restrictions relating to what they call “border security.”
