Republicans in the House and Senate are proposing to slash more than $230 billion from SNAP and school nutrition programs in order to fund more tax handouts for the wealthy and billion-dollar corporations. But it’s far from a done deal.
SNAP is not only our most effective anti-hunger program, it plays a crucial role in reducing poverty and improving health and economic outcomes. It’s also linked to better education outcomes and self-sufficiency, and plays an important role in supporting rural communities.
SNAP is one of the most cost-effective government programs in existence. Every dollar spent on SNAP generates $1.80 in local communities. Cuts to SNAP and school nutrition programs will have devastating consequences for generations to come.
Individual states currently pay a portion of the cost of administering SNAP, while the federal government pays the actual benefits. Implementing a $230 billion cut could force states to take on a portion of the cost of nutrition benefits for the first time, a radical change in the program that could lead to drastic cuts, increasing wait times for approval for benefits, or put a huge squeeze on states leading to slashed investments in other programs.
Cutting SNAP (and Medicaid, another right-wing target) also makes it harder for eligible families to obtain free or reduced-price school meals, summer food assistance for school-aged children (Summer EBT), and WIC benefits. School meal programs and Summer EBT automatically enroll eligible children using SNAP and Medicaid, while WIC agencies use automated systems to check for SNAP or Medicaid eligibility. In addition, the House Budget Committee has put forth numerous specific budget-cutting proposals, including a $12 billion cut to free school breakfast and lunch programs, affecting 24,000 schools nationwide.
Cutting funding for nutrition programs in order to pay for some of Trump’s $4.5 trillion tax handout―mostly to the wealthy and corporations―is an abomination.
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The Coalition on Human Needs is happy to announce the release of CHN’s Vote for Human Needs Voter Issue Guides! These guides are crafted to help you navigate the critical conversations surrounding human needs issues as we approach the election.
Whether you print them as flyers, handouts, or use the content in other creative ways, these resources are designed to fit the needs of your organization.
It’s unusual for us at CHN to write about a wealth of anything, but we are delighted to offer you a wealth of American Community Survey data on how people are faring in your state, congressional district, or major metropolitan area.
Today the Census Bureau released new American Community Survey (ACS), 1-year estimates. This includes data for states, communities, and congressional districts on a wealth of topics, including income, poverty, health insurance, housing, education, disability and much more for the most recent year available (2023).
Tuesday the Census Bureau released its CPS-ASEC and Supplemental Poverty Measure for 2023: — for human needs advocates, the most important Census Bureau release of the year when our government measures the progress we are making when it comes to fighting poverty, lack of health care, and income disparities between rich and poor. It is also a time for us to come together as a human needs community and celebrate the progress we have made – and we have made progress, although there is still much work to be done.
Real median household income increased from 2022 to 2023, poverty increased (but with a caveat), and the number of Americans without health insurance remained unchanged, according to Census Bureau statistics released Tuesday. Of prime importance, the survey data showed greater struggles for families when taking into account more accurate assumptions about their income and expenses.
Tuesday’s release of data about poverty, income, and health insurance will reinforce vital lessons. We learned that the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC), in place in 2021, reduced child poverty nearly by half. Despite this historic gain for children, there were not enough votes in Congress to continue the CTC expansion. So the nation got another, much more painful, lesson: in 2022, the child poverty rate as measured by the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure more than doubled, rising from 5.2 percent in 2021 to 12.4 percent in 2022. What happened to child poverty in 2023 is one of the most important findings to look for on Tuesday. If child poverty remains substantially higher than it was when families benefited from the expanded Child Tax Credit, it confirms the lesson we have already learned: we must restore the expanded CTC.
The U.S. Census Bureau this week will release several reports aimed at explaining how Americans are faring when it comes to income, poverty, and health insurance coverage. The reports will be released Tuesday and Thursday, and the Coalition on Human Needs is preparing materials to help you understand what the information means and how to respond.
The American Community Survey (ACS) is the most important Census Bureau survey you’ve never heard of. This nationwide survey provides vital information on a yearly basis about the housing, employment, economic security, education, health insurance coverage, and demographic characteristics of the nation’s population and neighborhoods. These data are used to allocate trillions of dollars in federal funding, develop informed policies, conduct rigorous research, assess programs, and enforce civil rights laws that protect people from discrimination.
Millions of Medicaid and Medicare recipients will be harmed. Newly won prescription drug negotiations will be stopped and costs will once again spiral, as will the cost of vaccinations. And in part by causing untold damage to the Environmental Protection Agency, millions more will suffer adverse health effects. During a recent webinar, three experts with the Center on American Progress (CAP) discussed the potential impact Project 2025 would have on health policy. Their diagnosis: not good.
Politicizing the Census Bureau. Adding a citizenship question to the decennial Census. Weaponizing and politicizing data collection. Undermining decennial Census and American Community Survey questions. These are only some of the things Project 2025 has in store for the Census Bureau if its radical agenda has its way.
The election potpourri edition. It is difficult to believe, but in 25 days, Americans begin voting for President. That’s when voters in Pennsylvania begin early voting. The election is truly upon us. Unfortunately, when some voters attempt to cast ballots, whether it be in person, or through some combination of early voting, absentee, mail-in, or drop-box, they will be in for a rude surprise. This is because a number of states have tightened voter ID laws and otherwise have made it more difficult to vote.
Nutrition assistance, Head Start, federal funds for education, and even safe baby formula would all be on the chopping block if the architects of the highly controversial Project 2025 have their way. Project 2025, drafted in part by the arch-conservative Heritage Foundation with the help of many former aides to ex- President Donald Trump, is a 900-plus page document that lays out guidelines as to what a new administration might look like, although the Trump campaign has disavowed any connection.