Below is the Coalition on Human Needs’ statement on President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget request released today. Let us know what you think of the President’s budget by leaving a comment below, and stay tuned for a special edition of the Human Needs Report to be released in the coming days with more analysis. You can also check out our FY17 Budget page, where we’ll be compiling valuable resources.

Coalition on Human Needs Praises President Obama’s FY17 Budget Request
Calls on Congress to Match Needed Investments in Human Needs Programs  Editor’s note: Executive Director Deborah Weinstein is available for interviews today and in the coming weeks as additional budget proposals are released.  

The Coalition on Human Needs applauds President Obama for making critical investments in human needs programs in his FY17 budget request released today. Highlights of the budget request include $12 billion over 10 years to reduce child hunger during the summer, $5.5 billion to help more than 1 million young people get their first job, and $11 billion for housing subsidies and other supports to meet the goal of ending family homelessness by 2020. Among many other important antipoverty initiatives, the budget increases funding for child care by $82 billion over ten years, increases the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income workers without children, makes Temporary Assistance for Needy Families more responsive to our poorest families, improves and extends federal unemployment insurance, and creates a $2 billion Emergency Aid and Service Connection fund for flexible assistance to poor families.

“The President’s budget takes practical steps toward reducing poverty and inequality,” said Deborah Weinstein, executive director of the Coalition on Human Needs. “The Obama Administration’s budget makes necessary investments in programs that have faced years of cuts. These programs help the millions of Americans left out of our economic recovery. Without additional investments, it would take more than 25 years to cut the poverty rate in half, and getting child poverty to the same level would take until 2049. The President’s budget takes important incremental steps to speed up the pace of reducing poverty.”

“President Obama’s budget recognizes that sustained economic progress is not possible if our children and young adults do not have the opportunity to grow, learn, and prepare for productive work. Any budget proposal must be judged on how responsibly it invests in our future by nurturing our children, opening up opportunities for workers, and protecting our retirees. With the health and well-being of millions of Americans at risk because of rising inequality, no budget proposal should do less than the Administration’s plan. We will judge the House and Senate Budget Resolutions by this same standard in the upcoming weeks. The FY16 Congressional Budget Resolution, however, assumed giant cuts in programs, disproportionately affecting low-income people. It would have pushed millions of people into, or deeper into, poverty. With bipartisan interest in reducing poverty on the rise, we hope to see a budget proposal from Congress that adheres to the Bipartisan Budget Act and that reduces poverty and inequality rather than increases it.”

A special edition of the Coalition on Human Needs’ Human Needs Report will be released in the coming days, with additional analysis of the President’s budget.