We are deeply saddened at the passing of Susan Rees, a great builder of the Coalition on Human Needs who served as Executive Director from 1983 to 1991.
We are so grateful Susan’s family has suggested contributions be made to CHN in Susan’s memory to continue the fight for justice.
If you would like to contribute to honor Susan Rees, please use the form below and email Radha Rath at rrath@chn.org to let us know you are contributing in Susan’s memory.
You may also contribute by mail at the following address: Coalition on Human Needs, 1825 K Street, NW, Suite 411, Washington, DC 20006.
Tell the Senate: Pass COVID relief now.
Tell the Senate:
“The House passed essential COVID-19 relief legislation on Saturday. Now, we need the Senate to act swiftly. Millions of families are struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic, and states, schools and local governments need our help to ensure they have the resources to keep our communities safe.”
The House voted on Saturday to send the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package to the Senate.We are getting closer to sending much needed relief to struggling families and cash-strapped states.
Now, we need the Senate to act. There is no margin of error in the Senate.
Write to your U.S. Senators right now, urging them to pass this $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, which will provide aid to millions of U.S. households―to put more money in the pockets of low- and no-income families, cut childhood poverty in half and protect families against eviction and hunger.
There are new reports that some Senators are backing off of their commitment to provide essential aid to states, schools and local governments—money that’s urgently needed to continue to provide essential services during and beyond the pandemic.
President Biden’s $1.9 trillion federal stimulus bill contains $350 billion in relief for state and local governments, plus $170 billion for education. These funds will play a critical role for dozens of states that have hemorrhaged tax revenue during the pandemic recession. Alaska, for instance, saw state revenues fall by more than 42% during the pandemic. And it is needed to allow schools to open safely, with the extra help children will need if they’ve fallen behind.
The bill, passed by the U.S. House, provides truly important help where it is most needed. It would extend jobless benefits, provide substantial increases to the Child Tax Credit and EITC—which would cut childhood poverty nearly in half—fund housing and nutrition aid, provide $1,400 direct payments to people throughout our country, fund vaccine distribution, prevent child care providers from shutting down permanently, expand health care, and much more.
This direct aid to people, families and communities is critical to helping those struggling from loss of income, and it’s critical to getting us through this deadly pandemic.
While the House measure extends unemployment benefits, we need it to go further. Millions of families throughout our country are facing the dire circumstances of losing a job through no fault of their own. The House bill lets jobless benefits expire at the end of August. Economists know that’s not enough time, and worse, Congress will be in recess and unable to extend benefits in a timely way. Together, we need to make sure Congress extends this essential lifeline to at least early October.
How much more will people lose before Trump and McConnell provide help?The House enacted its HEROES bill on May 15. The Senate has not yet acted; its majority caucus is divided.Since the House acted, the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has soared from 1.4 million to 4.8 million. We have gained back some of the jobs lost, but are still at least 13 million below the February peak, and now, as weekly unemployment claims have well exceeded 1 million for 20 weeks, job growth sharply slowed in July. About 30 million jobless people are now going without the $600/week extra unemployment compensation, and that is making it much harder for them to pay rent or buy food. In a nation where 600+ billionaires saw their aggregate incomes rise $42 billion per week between March 18-July 16, the Senate majority and White House have stopped more than $15 billion a week in the $600 unemployment payments; it will take at least weeks for state offices to start them up again. In the meantime, shocking numbers of people cannot pay their rent or get enough to eat. McConnell’s majority has not agreed to an increase in SNAP or emergency rental assistance, but they have proposed doubling the tax break for business meals. States are making cuts, costing more jobs and services. 158,000 have died. Our nation needs action now.
How many jobless people would be helped by the payroll tax cut that President Trump has now talked about doing by executive order, because you don’t pay it when you’re out of work. Tweet this.
More than half
51 percent of people lived in households where someone lost income from work (week ending July 21). From April 23 through July 21, the number of people in such households grew by 10 million, to 126.5 million.
2.23 million fewer
In June, 2.4 million private sector jobs were added; in July, only 167,000, according to ADP and Moody’s Analytics. The sharp slowing was said to result from the surge in COVID cases followed by more business restrictions/fewer customers. Tweet this.
One in five
The number of households that couldn’t pay their rent in the past month. (Closer to 30% for Latinx (27%), Black households (30%), households with children (28%).) The moratorium on evictions in federally subsidized/backed units expired on 7/25.
14.7 million
14.7 million people in households with children sometimes or often did not have enough to eat in the past week (week ending 7/21); that’s up 1.8 million since the week ending 5/26. 25% of Black and 21% of Latinx households with children did not have enough to eat, more than twice the rate of whites (10.5%).
12.2 million
How many people would be kept out of poverty through December if Congress reinstates the $600/week unemployment benefit, approves another round of improved stimulus payments, and increases SNAP, as in the House HEROES bill.
20
20 states have cut education funding (K-12 and/or higher education) for FYs 20 or 21 because of revenue shortfalls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
-1.9 million
1.9 million education jobs estimated to be lost in FYs 20-22 based on decline in state revenues going to education, according to the National Education Assoc.
