John,

Congress is negotiating spending bills for 2026, and it’s critical for them to not only put guardrails in place to stop Trump from blocking funding but also to fully fund children’s programs.

For the fourth consecutive year, federal investment in children has fallen, both in overall dollars and as a proportion of total spending. In FY2025, children’s programs accounted for just 8.57% of federal expenditures, meaning only $8.57 of every $100 went toward addressing children’s urgent and growing needs.¹

This continued decline is unacceptable especially given the clear evidence that investing in children delivers results. We all know that investing in children pays off major dividends down the road, but Congress does not necessarily prioritize investments in children. And this is despite recent evidence that we can dramatically reduce child poverty.

In 2021, a fully refundable Child Tax Credit, expanded child care and education supports, nutrition assistance, and direct cash aid drove the child poverty rate down to a historic low of 5.2%.² After those investments lapsed, child poverty climbed to 13.4% in 2024, a shocking 158% increase.³

With Congressional leaders finalizing spending bills in the next few days,⁴ now is the time to remind them about what’s at stake for children―and our communities.

Donald Trump has blocked congressionally approved funding for human needs programs for children before and it’s crucial that Congress prevents that from happening again.

Send a message to Congress demanding they put guardrails into congressional spending bills being negotiated right now and assert their power of the purse to prevent further impoundments and rescissions.

The federal government is not doing enough to invest in our people―services for children, families, workers, retirees, people needing health care, food, and housing. But since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term, his regime has unilaterally sought to block funding approved by Congress to meet these urgent needs. Education and child care funds, housing for people who have been homeless, substance use and mental health treatment―the Trump administration seeks to block all this and more, ignoring Congress’ appropriations power.

Donald Trump’s threats to these vital programs will hurt millions of people if Congress does not stand up to him. It doesn’t have to be this way. Congress must take meaningful steps now to fund human needs programs, assert its power of the purse, and put in guardrails to ensure that Donald Trump cannot continue his attacks on young and old alike.

Send a message to Congress telling them to assert their power of the purse and stop the Trump administration from illegally freezing appropriated funds.

Thank you for all you do,

Meredith Dodson
Senior Director of Public Policy, CHN Action

¹ Children's Budget
² Child Poverty Fell to Record Low 5.2% in 2021
³ Poverty in the United States: 2024
⁴ Funding crunch threatens House recess - POLITICO

-- DEBORAH'S EMAIL --

John,

Congress is finalizing their remaining spending bills right now. It’s necessary that they reassert their “power of the purse” by adding guardrails that prevent Donald Trump from blocking Congressionally approved funds again to ensure funding gets to local communities as intended.

Federal appropriations bills set Congress’s priorities for funding many programs that are key for housing, health, nutrition, education, safety, and the overall well-being of people of all ages, with many programs of vital importance to children and families. Permitting executive agencies to bypass or disregard these laws undermines Congress’s constitutional authority. This open dismissal of the power of the purse not only erodes democratic accountability but also jeopardizes the stability of essential programs that millions of people depend on to meet their most basic needs.

Send a direct message to Congress today demanding they assert their power of the purse and put guardrails on upcoming spending in appropriations bills.

Last year, Donald Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought cancelled or froze more than $410 billion in funding for programs, including $250 million for school-based mental health grants (impacting over 200 programs in 30 states), $500 million from the Emergency Food Assistance Program, $311 million to develop preschool programs, and $70 million from legal services that help unaccompanied children.¹ The administration specifically targeted K-12 education funds last summer, withholding $6 billion in education and afterschool funding―but after advocates spoke out across the country and sent over 200,000 messages to Capitol Hill,² a group of Republican Senators successfully demanded the funding get released.³

Thanks to your efforts and a nationwide outcry, most of the withheld funding was released back to communities as Congress originally intended, but the threats of impoundment and attacks on key government agencies are intensifying. This is why Congress must reject the administration’s latest attacks on human needs services that would dramatically weaken or dismantle programs, agencies, or departments, or strip away the expert staff essential to getting funding to local communities.

As Congress closes in on finalizing funding bills covering basic needs, your help is needed to tell Congress to protect needed programs from autocratic attacks.

There is a lot at stake for millions of people across the country. One vital group: students. With Congress working to finalize their funding bill for the Department of Education and other agencies in the next few days, it is critical that representatives and senators stand up to the administration’s moves to transfer Education Department programs to other federal agencies, jeopardizing education access for many.⁴ The Trump Department of Education’s proposal would place the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education under the Department of Labor, which makes no sense. They want to shift programs for students with disabilities to the Department of Health and Human Services, thereby removing them from the supervision of education experts. These moves would put at risk oversight and educational services for students with disabilities, students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, students experiencing homelessness, students in foster care, English language learners, and more. Join us in calling on Congress to do its duty by strengthening safeguards in pending appropriations legislation, to stop the administration from gutting this vital department.

Another example of why Congress needs to strengthen safeguards: housing. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is pushing forward a plan that will displace more than 170,000 formerly homeless people.⁵ Members of Congress are speaking out against these moves on a bipartisan basis, and we need to speak up to ensure HUD, Department of Education, and other agencies move quickly to get funding to communities as intended.

Send a message to Congress demanding that they do their job and put guardrails in place to prevent more damage to critical human needs programs.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, CHN Action

¹ NEW: Weeks Away from End of Fiscal Year, Trump is Blocking $410+ Billion in Funding Owed to Communities Nationwide
² Congress must act to demand the release of $5 billion in public education funding now
³ Capito, Colleagues Advocate for Critical Education Funding
⁴ Pushing Back Against Attacks on Public Education
⁵ ACT NOW: Protect Communities from Intentional Chaos - National Alliance to End Homelessness