Whether our work is unpaid or underpaid, we work hard to meet our needs and pursue our goals. We all deserve to get the help we need, no matter what.
As emergency allocations for SNAP and other programs are coming to an end this spring, Washington's low-income residents are already facing a more difficult financial landscape. Many who have been able to feed their families and afford basic needs will once again need to go to food banks or struggle to pay their rent.
In their proposed budgets, the House and Senate diverge in their approach to addressing this hardship. The Senate budget funds increased access to affordable housing and diaper subsidies for low-income parents, but only funds TANF time limit extensions for child-only cases, budgets for a reduction in the TANF caseload, and fails to fund Medicaid equivalent coverage for uninsured adults regardless of immigration status.
The House budget takes a much more expansive approach. Their proposed budget funds TANF time limit extensions for hardship through 2025, increases the TANF grant amount, funds increased asset limits for TANF, ends the requirement for ABD recipients to repay the state when they transfer onto SSI, makes important administrative fixes to the Working Families Tax Credit.
While the Senate budget makes cuts to TANF and fails to fund policies that would make TANF a more effective stepping stone out of poverty, the House budget makes important steps to help low-income Washingtonians meet their basic needs and build a path to financial stability.
Urge your Senator to follow the House budget’s lead and thank your Representatives for funding these important efforts!
