Editor’s Note: Making Syrian and Iraqi refugees hostages to the politics of the must-pass federal appropriations bill is a serious moral issue to us. Take a look at this excellent piece by CLASP’s Executive Director Olivia Golden, who brings first-hand experience to this topic. It was originally published online in…
Archives: Voices
The Story of Christmas
With the holiday season upon us and the majority of the nation looking forward to celebrating Christmas, Congress still has some business it must take care of before they can go home to family, friends and fundraisers. In a little over a week the government will run out of funding…
A Clean Spending Package, or an Ugly Christmas Tree?
With Thanksgiving barely over, many Americans turned their attention immediately to Christmas. A less-than-scientific poll (my personal Facebook feed) showed that lots of friends went to their local Christmas tree lot in the days following Thanksgiving and spent time over the weekend hanging lights, ornaments, and garlands on their trees….
10 Things We’re Thankful for This Thanksgiving
Gathering with friends and family. Packed roads and airports. Turkey with all the trimmings. Thanksgiving is upon us once again. In this time of bounty, we are mindful of course of the millions who can’t afford a big feast or a warm home in which to host it. And we’ll…
Congress: Don’t Leave ANY Working Families Behind
There’s been a lot of terrible anti-refugee and anti-immigrant sentiments from some pretty high-up sources lately – governors, members of Congress, even Presidential candidates. There’s been harmful anti-refugee legislation – like the House bill to stall and disrupt refugee screening for resettlement in the U.S., and anti-immigration legislation, like a…
Correction: House Vote to Block Syrian Refugees WAS Veto-Proof
Earlier today, I made a mistake in saying that the House vote in favor of H.R. 4038 (the anti-Syrian/Iraqi refugee resettlement bill) would not have been enough to override a Presidential veto. Sorry to report that if the same votes were cast to override, it would have been enough to…
Score 1 for Fear: House Votes to Disrupt Syrian/Iraqi Refugee Screenings
Some follow-up from yesterday’s post about Tamam (age 5) and the other refugees escaping from Syrian violence: the House of Representatives voted for H.R. 4038, the legislation that would stall and disrupt refugee screening for resettlement in the U.S. The vote was 289-137, with 242 Republicans and 47 Democrats voting…
Afraid of Her Pillow
This is Tamam, a five year old Syrian refugee. She cries every night, associating her pillow with the night air raids she lived through in her hometown of Homs. She escaped Syria two years ago and is in Azraq, Jordan now. This photo was taken by Magnus Wennman, who photographed…
Human Needs Report: Appropriations, Tax Credits, and Congress’s To-Do List
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…
Let Congress Know They Must #InvestInKids
Join CHN, MomsRising, First Focus, and other advocates across the nation on Thursday, November 19 from 1-2 pm ET for an #InvestInKids twitterstorm. Use the hashtag to share with Congress why it is vital to invest in programs that support our nation’s children. Even though Congress has already passed a…
An Annoying Poll
CQ News recently cited a poll about the budget deal enacted by Congress, in which 61 percent agree “lawmakers should have stuck to lower spending levels,” and 39 percent agree that “the deal is a positive move forward.” We at the Coalition on Human Needs supported the deal, which will…
Resources from around the Coalition: Hunger and Poverty, Child Care, Housing Recovery and More
Hunger and Poverty. Child Care. Housing Recovery. This week we continue our series, Resources from around the Coalition, where we highlight great work that CHN’s member organizations are putting out. Bread for the World recently issued individual state fact sheets highlighting hunger and poverty across the nation. Their fact sheets…