John,

You might have seen the press reports about the spending framework agreed to by Congressional leaders late yesterday.¹

Your work has helped reject extremists’ demands for deep cuts to human needs programs, and your financial support is critical to fueling our work to quickly pass bipartisan full-year spending bills that adequately invest in human needs―while rejecting efforts to include harmful cuts or policy riders in these bills.

Read Deborah’s email below, then rush a donation today to power our campaign to fight back against extremists' damaging cuts.

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately:

Together, we’re demanding Congress prioritize the most vulnerable including those facing food and housing insecurity, struggling with child care costs, and dealing with other hardships that make it harder to make ends meet. We are grateful for your partnership in that work!

Thank you for all that you do,

Meredith Dodson
Senior Director of Public Policy, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ Congress has a deal to fund the government and not much time to pass it

-- DEBORAH'S EMAIL --

John,

Some things weren’t left behind in 2023 because, once again, the federal government is on the brink of another shutdown. If Congress doesn’t pass FY2024 funding bills by January 19th, we will enter a partial shutdown that will impact essential human needs programs including nutrition and housing. Funding for many additional programs expires by February 2. Failure to meet these deadlines responsibly will inflict untold pain and suffering upon millions of households.

We need a full year 2024 budget to pass, but we can’t do it by drastically cutting programs that people rely on like housing assistance, nutrition programs, and Head Start to get there. That’s why we’re demanding Congress pass legislation with funding levels no less than the bipartisan Senate funding bills, which provide a minimum level of funding sufficient to keep most critical services running without undue harm to vulnerable communities.

Speaker Johnson has a razor-thin House majority. We’re using that to our advantage to pressure moderates to oppose extreme cuts to nutrition, housing, heating and cooling assistance, Head Start, and much more.

When Congress returns tomorrow, they will immediately work to finalize their topline funding numbers. Rush a donation today to fight back against Speaker Mike Johnson’s draconian cuts that would harm those most in need.

As part of his demands for cuts, Speaker Johnson has plans to fast-track the immediate creation of a secretive fiscal commission that would put the funding of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, and other essential programs at stake.

This would be one more step consistent with Rep. Johnson’s history of support for slashing human needs programs. Speaker Johnson has called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) “our nation’s most broken and bloated welfare program”, advocating for drastic cuts; and he’s called for radically changing the Head Start program by making it a state-administered early education voucher program―taking federal education funds away from communities most in need.¹

Fight back against cuts to housing, SNAP, Medicaid, Social Security, and other critical programs. Donate today!

The Continuing Resolution (CR) that funds the government until January 19th does not include increased funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)―a nutrition program that is targeted to the critical life stages of pregnancy and postpartum and birth through the age of 5.

Historically, there has been a long-standing bipartisan commitment that no eligible applicant is turned away. A lack of increased funding could lead to 2 million women, babies, and young children denied vital nutrition help each month.³

Across-the-board funding cuts would also mean that housing assistance would be eliminated for nearly 700,000 households and would produce 3,000 fewer units of affordable housing.⁴ With many families facing rapidly increasing housing costs, turning families away from rental assistance could lead to increasing numbers of people unhoused.

Already, the amount of people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. has increased by 12%―a new record. Lack of stable housing usually also means food insecurity, lack of access to health care, and other negative outcomes that can impact families for generations to come.

The United States is the wealthiest country in the world; our federal government must act like it and invest in our communities.

Donate $5 today to power our campaign fighting back against these cruel cuts that inflict more pain and suffering on vulnerable communities.

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately:

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ Here’s where Speaker Mike Johnson stands on the issues
² 600,000 Young Children and New Parents Could Be Turned Away Unless Congress Adheres to a 25-Year Bipartisan Commitment to Fully Fund WIC
³ About 2 Million Parents and Young Children Could Be Turned Away From WIC by September Without Full Funding
⁴ Implications of a Date-Change, Full-Year CR