John,

During this challenging time, we need to take a step back and focus on the needs of the millions of vulnerable people throughout our country. The number of weekly job losses, so far, in this pandemic are staggering. In just the last few weeks, 17 million Americans have lost their jobs.

There is no shortage of what our federal government should be doing to safeguard the health and economic security of lower income families throughout our country.

The Trump administration, however, is moving in exactly the opposite direction. They are taking this opportunity to shrink the way the poverty threshold is determined—and that means hiding the truth about what millions of people need. The deadline to share your comment is tomorrow, April 14th at midnight.

Click here to submit an official comment to the Trump administration. Tell them to extend the deadline of their comment period, and make sure they know you are opposed to hiding the truth about low-income and vulnerable families across the United States.

The idea that we are counting too few people in poverty is nonsensical. The exorbitant costs of rent, transit and child care make life a struggle for people whose incomes are well above the official poverty line.

In fact, research and public opinion alike show that the poverty measurement we have in place currently is failing to count all the people living in poverty. Research by the Urban Institute found more than 60% of non-elderly adults with incomes up to twice the poverty line reported difficulties paying for food, utilities, rent, or medical bills.

We need to join together and demand the Trump administration extend the deadline on this federal comment period and make clear that we oppose undermining low-income families when millions are losing their jobs each week.

We are building a national coalition to fight for the needs of families, low-income people and vulnerable populations throughout our country. The global pandemic only makes our mission more urgent.

Nicolai Haddal
Field Coordinator, Coalition on Human Needs