John,

Thanks to extremists in Congress, we are once again facing the threat of a government shutdown. The stopgap spending bill passed in September to keep the government funded expires on November 17th, and in the meantime, extremists in the Republican Party ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy as Speaker—throwing the House of Representatives into prolonged chaos.

Congress had months to work together and pass bipartisan FY2024 spending bills. But, instead of staying true to a framework agreed to between Congress and President Biden last spring, right-wing Republicans are demanding deep cuts to critical programs in exchange for keeping the government running.

If there is no agreement to continue funding after November 17, tens of thousands of children could lose access to Head Start and WIC, well over one million government employees will go without pay, the processing of Social Security and disability applications will come to a halt, food and worker safety inspections will be delayed, and health research will be interrupted.

We cannot allow a handful of extremists to hold our government hostage and inflict untold pain and suffering onto vulnerable communities. Send a direct message to Congress, demanding that they pass responsible funding levels before November 17th.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved bipartisan funding bills that comply with the debt limit deal. But extremists in the House keep demanding deeper and deeper cuts. House appropriators have proposed slashing funding for education, housing, public health, and much more. Their proposals would result in :¹

• A reduction of about 220,000 teachers or other key K-12 staff in schools serving low-income students

• Up to 82,000 children losing access to Head Start

• Half a million fewer people getting job training or employment services

• 20,000 low-income households denied rental housing vouchers, dramatically increasing their housing costs

• Deep cuts to the monthly allotments for fresh fruits and vegetables for young children and mothers in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program

• Cuts of $564 million to programs that reduce lead poisoning and other hazards in housing, threatening 78,000 children

As extreme as this is, right-wingers wanted even deeper cuts in the stopgap funding bill to keep the government open―with even more children losing Head Start, placing 2.1 million women and children on WIC waiting lists, dropping 65,000 children from child care, and reducing home heating and cooling aid for 5 million low-income households.²

The effects of these cuts would be felt for generations and would severely exacerbate income and racial inequity in this country. We must not only keep our government fully funded, but we must also prioritize critical nutrition, child care, and early learning programs for the betterment of our society.

Poverty is a policy decision, not an inevitability. Congress must move forward and agree on full-year funding levels to keep our government running. Now let’s get it done!

Contact Congress today to pass responsible FY2024 funding bills without cuts before November 17th.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ Memo from Shalanda Young, Director, Office of Management and Budget: House Republicans’ Appropriations Bills Would Devastate the American People - and Break the Bipartisan Budget Agreement
² By the Numbers: Impacts of House Republicans’ Extreme CR 8% Cuts