IWS Updates

Prior to the August recess, House Republicans in most subcommittees passed harmful appropriations bills that would severely reduce funding for public benefits and limit access. The conservative-led House bills would: 

• Cut the fruit and vegetable benefit in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children by at least half, affecting approximately 5 million participants;
• Expand harsh work-reporting requirements in SNAP to people aged 50 to 55, risking benefits for 1 million older adults;
• Zero out funding for the Family Unification Program that offers housing choice vouchers to families that have been separated by child protective services and need stable housing to reunite;
• Reduce funding for already underfunded housing programs such as public housing, Section 811, and Section 202, which provide housing for people with disabilities and elders, respectively; and
• Cut funding for several agencies that administer benefits including the Social Security Administration, the IRS, and the civil rights offices within the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services. 

Considering that current funding levels for many programs are not adequate to serve the number of people who need assistance, the House’s proposed cuts would limit benefits access for millions. 
While the Senate’s bipartisan appropriations bill does not invest enough in public benefits, it does avoid severe cuts to programs. Failure to reconcile discrepancies between the Senate and the House significantly increases the likelihood of a government shutdown or a continuing resolution.

Lawmakers failed to produce a draft of the Farm Bill before the August recess, with neither chamber having circulated any version. However, there is optimism that mark-up bills for the Farm Bill will be made available upon Congress's return in September. Both the appropriation bill and the Farm Bill face imminent deadlines of September 30th. 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) just released a national summary of April Medicaid unwinding data. In April 2023, out of 2.2 million renewals started, over 700,000 people were disenrolled from Medicaid. Of those disenrolled, 79 percent were due to procedural reasons, not ineligibility. In response to the high levels of procedural disenrollments, CMS paused Medicaid redeterminations in 12 states to address noncompliance with renewal requirements, and ten states have chosen to delay procedural terminations. You can read more about what we do and don't know from the Medicaid unwinding data in this blog. 

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is seeking comments about the burdens people experience while trying to access housing or homelessness programs such as Section 8, public housing, or emergency shelters. Participating in any public benefits program requires submitting a great deal of paperwork. Unfortunately, the methods that agencies use to collect information about a person’s circumstances can create burdens that deter people from applying for or recertifying their benefits. Comments are due September 14, 2023. We encourage anyone who has navigated housing and homelessness programs to share those experiences with HUD so they can try to make accessing programs less burdensome. Please download this document to guide you as your writing. You can answer as few or as many of the questions as you like! All comments can be submitted here.