CHN just released our latest edition of the Human Needs Report, our regular newsletter on national policy issues affecting low-income and vulnerable populations. This edition includes articles on the ongoing appropriations process, low-income tax credits, and what’s left on Congress’s to-do list. See below for the full analysis and links to each section of the report.
Click here for the full PDF Human Needs Report: http://www.chn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/November-17-2015.pdf

Appropriations Work Goes Into High Gear Following Budget Deal
The passage of the budget deal allowed appropriators in Congress to turn to the task of dividing up the new top-line dollar figures, and drafting spending legislation that must pass by December 11 when the current government funding runs out. Advocates have been weighing in with appropriators to make sure the additional funds secured in the budget act go to human needs programs that have been subjected to years of cuts. But harmful ideological policy changes could stop a spending package in its tracks and cause a government shutdown or year-long stop-gap spending measure. READ MORE »

Congress to Move Corporate Tax Breaks; Future of Low-Income Tax Credits Remain Uncertain
Also on the horizon for Congressional action is a package of approximately 50 (mostly) corporate tax breaks. The tax breaks, known as “tax extenders” in Washington because they have been repeatedly extended on a temporary basis, expired at the end of 2014. Many Republican members of Congress want to see many of these tax breaks made permanent, a move that human needs advocates oppose. READ MORE »

What’s Left on Congress’s To-Do List
With the holiday season just around the corner, Congress’s to-do list remains long – from reauthorizing the transportation bill and child nutrition programs to passing sentencing reform. The number of big legislative items left to be dealt with this year and the shrinking number of legislative days in which to deal with them means the future of these pieces of legislation remains uncertain. READ MORE »

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