The Half in Ten campaign advocate for tested policy solutions – at the Federal, State, and even Local level - that will increase opportunity and cut poverty. Full List of Policy Solutions
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wa) will host a briefing on Friday, November 14 at 12:30 pm for other members of Congress and their staffs. This briefing will highlight two proposals that offer the greatest hope for simultaneously boosting the economy, assisting state governments, and helping many of the more than 10 million unemployed workers in our labor market today.
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On November 14 from 10:00-11:30 am, Half in Ten, ACORN, the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the Coalition on Human Needs, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the National Employment Law Project will co-host a special event on the unemployment crisis.
Unemployment Insurance is a cornerstone of economic security and the first line of defense when jobs disappear, preventing families from falling into poverty, and infusing spending into the local economies hardest hit by unemployment. This safety net has never been more important than right now as Congress debates new measures to stimulate the economy: we have lost more than a million jobs since January, and the unemployment rate is likely heading to levels not seen since the serious recession of the early 1980s. Read more »
Christine Owens, Executive Director of the National Employment Law Project, testified on October 29 before the House Committee on Ways and Means on the need for economic recovery. Owens emphasized the worsening unemployment crisis, and urged the President and Congress to act quickly to extend unemployment benefits and modernize the unemployment insurance system.
Read the full testimony.
Read more on unemployment from the National Employment Law Project.
Read the press release from the National Employment Law Project, the Center for American Progress Action Fund, and Half in Ten on the September unemployment figures.
By Jon Hurdle
Reuters
Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators said on Friday a program that has helped many homeowners in the Philadelphia area to avoid foreclosure could be a model for rescuing thousands of strapped borrowers nationwide.
Sens. Arlen Specter and Robert Casey held a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Philadelphia to hear how the city was able to prevent foreclosure of about 80 percent of homes referred to the program in its first three months.
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On October 24, the House Committee on Education and Labor held a hearing on the unemployment crisis and strategies to encourage job growth. Dana Stevens, an unemployed woman from New Jersey, gave the following testimony at the hearing:
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By Paul Jackson
HousingWire.com
New Jersey state officials last week said they would begin to roll out a program requiring mandatory mediation on certain foreclosure proceedings, the latest effort by local government officials to stanch a growing tide of foreclosures. New Jersey Chief Justice Stuart Rabner said in a press statement that the program would provide mediators to help homeowners and lenders negotiate with one another and try to work out agreements to avoid foreclosures.
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On Friday, October 24 at 10:00 a.m., the House Committee on Education and Labor will hold a hearing in Washington, DC to focus on the nation’s severe unemployment outlook and strategies to spur job growth, as part of efforts to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive economic recovery and job creation program.
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The economy has taken a serious turn for the worse for workers and their families. There has been a significant surge in unemployment, and Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada, and Ohio are some of many states that have been hit particularly hard.
The nation’s unemployment rate reached a five-year high of 6.1 percent in September. Nearly 10 million Americans were officially unemployed last month and still actively looking for work. Unemployment claims are now at a seven-year high, with nearly 500,000 workers applying for benefits every week.
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Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) will host a hearing, “Keeping Families In Their Homes: How to Prevent Foreclosures – Part II” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Friday, October 24 at 10 am. The Committee will hear from several witnesses about the housing mediation program that has been successful in reducing foreclosures in Philadelphia.
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From the Coalition on Human Needs
On October 3, its final day in session, Congress passed and the President signed into law a major improvement in the Child Tax Credit that will help 13 million low-income children. The provision makes families with earnings of $8,500 or more eligible for a partial Child Tax Credit although they don’t earn enough to owe federal income taxes (called a “refundable” credit). Approximately 2.9 million children will become newly eligible for the credit and 10.1 million will receive a larger credit. Without the improvement families would have had to earn at least $12,050 in 2008 to be eligible for the partial credit. The reduced earnings requirement was enacted for one year; although advocates have hopes it will not be too difficult to persuade Congress to extend it.
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