Dear John,

In case you missed it... this week the Voices for Human Needs blog commemorated National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day and reacted to Congress' final appropriations bills -- the good, the bad, and the ugly. We also examined members' failure to expand tax credits for children and low-income workers. And we unveiled CHN's latest Human Needs Report. Please share!

This week on the blog...

CHN's latest Human Needs Report: Final spending bills, parental leave for federal workers, ACA's future, and more
Dec. 20
CHN just released another edition of the Human Needs Report. Read on for the latest on Congress's final FY20 spending bills, a year-end tax package, a court's ruling on the ACA, efforts to preserve SNAP benefits and lower prescription drug costs, and more. READ MORE »

For homeless Americans, Dec. 21 is the longest night of the year
Dec. 19
Saturday, Dec. 21 is the first day of winter and the longest night of the year. It is also the day that many affordable housing advocates have chosen to remember the many homeless people who die each year. Sponsored by the National Coalition for the Homeless, the National Consumer Advisory Board and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, the National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day has been commemorated for nearly three decades now. READ MORE »

CHN on Congressional spending bills: Important progress and missed opportunities
Dec. 18
The appropriations bills passed by the House of Representatives will provide important help to many Americans in areas such as child care funding, affordable housing, Medicaid, and more. But Congress missed some opportunities to make our tax code serve those who need help the most, and it failed to block the Trump Administration’s abusive anti-immigrant and anti-discrimination policies. The need to help more people escape poverty and to stop inhumane attacks on immigrants remains urgent, and the members of the Coalition on Human Needs will redouble their efforts towards just and commonsense policies in the new year. READ MORE »

A missed opportunity: Congress fails to expand tax credits to help children, low-income workers
Dec. 18
Moments before midnight Monday, Congressional leaders reached an agreement on an end-of-year tax package that leaves out millions of poor people. In particular, despite a tenacious push by Speaker Pelosi and allies and a welcome demonstration of at least some bipartisan support, some children in poor families remain too poor to get help from the tax code. Advocates had hoped that Congress would expand the Child Tax Credit to cover families who are either too poor to qualify, or qualify for just a fraction of what other families receive. Also needing help were low-income workers without dependents, the only group whose tax payments can push them deeper into poverty. READ MORE »

Coalition on Human Needs
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