The Coalition on Human Needs just released another edition of the Human Needs Report, a newsletter on national policy issues affecting low-income and other vulnerable populations. Read on for the latest on the FY19 Labor-H bill and other FY19 spending, a proposed anti-immigrant rule, a bill to fight the opioid crisis, tax cuts 2.0, reactions to the Supreme Court confirmation, and more. Click here for a PDF version.

Fiscal Year 2019 Begins Without a Shutdown and With a Labor-H Bill
October 1 marked the start of Fiscal Year 2019 for the federal government. While all 12 appropriations bills that are required to keep the government running had not yet been passed by the September 30 deadline, five of them were passed by then. Read on for a summary of some of the highlights of the increases in the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, as well as for more on what’s next for FY19 spending. READ MORE »

House Passes More Tax Cuts
On September 30, the House passed a bill that would make permanent the tax cuts for individuals enacted as part of the GOP tax cut bill passed in December 2017. Only three Democrats voted in favor of the bill; 10 Republicans opposed it. The provisions of the package would cost as much as $3 trillion over a ten-year period, 50 percent more than the almost $2 trillion cost of the first round of tax cuts passed last year. READ MORE »

Anti-Immigrant Public Charge Rule Changes Proposed
On September 22, the Department of Homeland Security published a rule on its website that would make it harder for immigrants to come to or stay in the U.S. if they use any number of public benefits they are legally entitled to, such as SNAP or housing assistance. The proposed rule would make changes to what’s known as the “public charge” provisions of immigration laws. Advocates believe this is a back door way for the Trump Administration to restrict family immigration and deter families from securing critical services. READ MORE »

Farm Bill Expires as Negotiations Continue
Lawmakers were unable to come to an agreement on the Farm Bill, which includes the reauthorization of SNAP/food stamps, before the 2014 law expired on September 30. While many programs are affected by this, SNAP and nearly all nutrition programs will continue to operate and distribute benefits. Leaders hope to have a conference report, which works out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bills, ready for a vote after the November elections. READ MORE »

House and Senate Pass Conference Bill to Fight Opioid Crisis
Congress overwhelmingly passed a conferenced version of H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. This bipartisan bill, which combines dozens of bills legislators have passed over the previous months, is intended to help fight our nation’s growing opioid epidemic. READ MORE »

Advocates Respond to Supreme Court Confirmation
Advocates responded with concern to Judge Brett Kavanuagh’s October 6 confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a statement released the day before the final confirmation vote in the Senate, CHN’s Executive Director Deborah Weinstein said, “His opinions and statements seek to limit the Affordable Care Act and would reduce protections for workers, voters, consumers, and people with disabilities, all of which would inflict outsized harm on poor and near-poor people.”READ MORE »

The Human Needs Report is the regular newsletter on national policy issues affecting low-income and vulnerable populations from the Coalition on Human Needs. Sign up to get the Human Needs Report delivered directly to your inbox, subscribe to our blog, and follow CHN on Facebook and Twitter.