Visitors who stand on the sidewalk in front of the AFL-CIO’s Washington, D.C. building and look left capture a magnificent view of the White House, perhaps three-quarters of a mile away. This was the backdrop Tuesday night for the Coalition on Human Needs’ 13th annual Human Needs Hero Reception. CHN…
Archives: Voices
Human Needs Report: What Congress Did and Didn’t Do Before the Summer Recess
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 appropriations, Zika funding, the first major piece of authorizing legislation affecting housing vouchers and public housing since 1998, and other actions Congress took – and punted on – before…
13 Reasons Why We Do the Work We Do Together
The CHN office is always a flurry of activity. With a small staff and so much to do to protect and expand programs that help our low-income neighbors, there’s no time to sit still. This week is even busier as we take care of final preparations for our Human Needs…
An Open Letter to Members of Congress
Editor’s note: The following challenge to Congress originally appeared in the Huffington Post on Wednesday, July 13. Our nation cries out for leadership. We need you to lead and heal now by acting to remedy wrongs and prevent harm visited disproportionately on communities of color. There are meaningful steps you…
A Wake-up Call for White Progressives
Editor’s note: In light of recent events in Minnesota, Baton Rouge, and Dallas, and subsequent protests across the country, CHN is urging Congress to take action on a number of human needs issues important to communities of color before members break for their summer recess. You can join our call…
Supreme Court Declines to Take Appeal on Home Care Rule; True Victory for Home Care Workers
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on the National Council of La Raza’s blog on July 1. The National Employment Law Project’s Executive Director Christine Owens also penned an op-ed on this topic that was published by The Hill and is featured on NELP’s blog. The Supreme Court has ended…
Fact of the Week: 1 in 6 Households Struggled with Food Hardship in 2015
Have there been times in the past 12 months when you did not have enough money to buy food for you or your family? Gallup put this question to nearly 118,000 households throughout the United States in 2015 as part of an annual survey aimed at measuring food hardship in…
Meanwhile…the mosquitoes are breeding.
If you read CHN’s latest Human Needs Report, posted earlier this week, you know that Congress continues to squabble over funding for the Zika virus. They left for the fourth of July recess without approving additional funds. And, thanks to an in-depth article that appeared Sunday in the Washington Post,…
Resources from Around the Coalition Special Edition: What Works—and What Doesn’t—to Reduce Poverty and Expand Opportunity
As you’ve (hopefully) heard by now, CHN held a June 16th briefing on Capitol Hill entitled “What Works—and What Doesn’t—to Reduce Poverty and Expand Opportunity.” The briefing included experts from a wide range of organizations working to combat poverty and featured remarks from House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. This week, we…
Paul Ryan’s anti-poverty plan: ‘Better lipstick. Same pig.’
Editor’s note: Earlier this month, we discussed CHN’s June 16 event, What Works – And What Doesn’t – To Reduce Poverty and Expand Opportunity. As part of that event, Melissa Boteach, vice president of the Poverty to Prosperity Program at the Center for American Progress, delivered a presentation on House Speaker…
Human Needs Report: Gun Control, Immigration, TANF and More
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 appropriations and gun control, the Supreme Court Decision on immigration, Zika, TANF, the latest House GOP proposals, and more. See below for the full analysis and links to each piece…
House Dems and Gun Control: How You Can Help
As we noted in this blog post last night, House Democrats began a “sit-in” yesterday on the House floor, imploring House leaders to vote to end the loopholes that prevent background checks for gun sales at gun shows or online and to allow gun sales to be denied to those…