It began, in part and strangely enough, with a banana. Entrepreneur Jimmy Chen hoped to develop software that would make it easier for people with low incomes to apply for SNAP benefits. While conducting research and interviews and studying how poor people shop, he noticed people buying one very cheap item – often a banana – so that they could find out their Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) balance, which was printed on their receipt.
Archives: Voices
A stronger IRS helps make our tax system fairer for families
As tax filing season begins, you may be wondering about recent efforts to strip the IRS of billions of dollars of funding. Last week, House Republicans voted to rescind the $80 billion in new IRS funding included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. While this cut will not ultimately be enacted (the Democratically-controlled Senate will not pass the bill and President Biden has indicated he would veto it), it brings attention to the critical need for more – not reduced – IRS funding.
COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship, January 13, 2023
The XBB.1.5 edition. New COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are on the rise in many parts of the country. Hospitalizations in particular are at the highest level they’ve been in almost 11 months. Some of this increase was anticipated due to the aftermath of the holidays – a time when many family members and friends gather indoors. But the increase in caseloads is also due to the rapid emergence of XBB.1.5, which is more transmissible than any other omicron subvariant we’ve seen so far.
Biden Administration offers mixed — and disappointing — steps on immigration.
On January 5, 2023, the Biden Administration announced new border enforcement measures aimed at increasing security at the border and reducing the number of individuals crossing unlawfully. The first policy announced is two-fold: it includes a new pathway for Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans with the requirement of having U.S.- based sponsors to enter the United States. But also announced is an expansion of Title 42, a policy that allows for the rapid expulsion of individuals back to those same countries without the opportunity to apply for asylum.
I was incarcerated. These are the consequences of prison predatory phone rates.
Have you ever had to choose between phoning your sick mother or brushing your teeth? How about between wearing shoes or calling your favorite niece to sing happy birthday? I’ve had to make these decisions before, and I don’t wish it on anyone — and that’s because I was once incarcerated.
The other January 6
When one thinks of January 6, one remembers the tragic and awful events of two years ago at our nation’s Capitol – anarchy and chaos and insurrection. Democracy bent that day but did not break. But there is another January 6 that plays a role in our country’s history – a day that contributes seminally and in an aspirational sense to the molding of our character as a nation.
On tap for 2023: Medicaid expansion in the states?
This year could be key for efforts to expand Medicaid coverage in 11 “non-expansion” states as increased public pressure is converging with key state Republican leaders changing their mind on the issue and softening their opposition.
For pregnant workers and new moms, FY 2023 spending bill was a welcome outcome
Human needs advocates have yet to unpack every last detail included in the recently approved fiscal year 2023 appropriations package, which Congress passed shortly before recessing for the December holidays. The legislation, which when introduced was 4,155 pages in length, includes several hard-fought measures for pregnant workers and new moms that please labor and health care advocates.
To Our Human Needs Advocacy Partners
The House has enacted the omnibus spending bill, 225 to 201. Ten Republicans joined 215 Democrats. One Democrat (reported to be Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) joined 200 Republicans in opposing. So it will go to President Biden for his signature, and the 118th Congress will convene in January. Your unflagging work led to gains for people who need help, and protected people from hardship. It is a privilege to have the chance to work with you, learn from you, and amplify your voices.
Food insecurity is already a huge problem for the U.S. In 2023, it may get worse.
In 2021, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, 33 million Americans lived in food-insecure households. That number was actually a drop from the year before, due to the expanded Child Tax Credit and other pandemic relief programs. But in 2022, hunger in America was again on the rise, after Congress refused to extend the CTC expansion past December 2021.
The good, the bad, and the bitter: The FY23 Omnibus Package
Senate and House negotiators managed to include some important initiatives in the omnibus end-of-year funding package that will help millions of people withstand hunger and receive health care. More people will get help with home heating or cooling, urgently needed as temperatures plummet and home energy costs rise. There are increases for Head Start and child care. But because of the intransigence of Minority Leader McConnell and some in his caucus, a lot of good that could have been done for people nationwide was thwarted, and some of the good that was included was there only because other cuts were imposed. This is a Grinch-y approach to the nation’s needs.
COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship, December 16, 2022
The appropriations edition. During the next few days, leaders in Congress will try to hammer out an agreement on an omnibus appropriations bill for FY 2023. We don’t yet know the total for domestic funding, or how specific programs will fare. But there is one thing we do know, and we know it emphatically. We know that for the past 12 years, human needs programs have been starved of funding – and now, Congress has an opportunity to address this.