Today marks the 29th day that millions of unemployed workers have been left without jobless benefits as Congress continues to stall on passage of the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (HR4213). The bill failed a third time just last week, unable to get the 60 votes necessary to get through the Senate.

Write your senators today and urge them to act swiftly to extend unemployment insurance and other job-creation measures such as:

• Providing State Fiscal Relief in the form of Medicaid, known as FMAP, for another six months
• Extending the TANF Emergency Fund through FY 2011 to save 205,000 jobs
• Providing funding for summer jobs for youth

Write your Senator Now! 

The House and Senate are discussing the possibility of extending unemployment benefits through November 30, 2010 as a stand-alone bill. Inaction means that 1.2 million unemployed workers will have lost access to jobless benefits by the time July 4 rolls around and a total of 2 million workers will lose their benefits by the end of July. Cutting off unemployment insurance undermines a nascent economic recovery and can have dire effects on families, as these personal stories show.

And without congressional action to provide fiscal relief to states and extend the TANF Emergency Fund, states will lose $16 billion in Medicaid aid. This means that as states start their fiscal years on July 1, hundreds of thousands of jobs and needed services could be cut, both of which undermine the economic recovery. And if Congress does not act soon, business that have partnered with state governments to create 205,000 private-sector jobs will begin shutting down these opportunities for vulnerable workers.

That is why we need you to ACT NOW!

Unemployment across the country is hovering around 10 percent, with low-income communities, youth, single mother households, and communities of color facing disproportionate rates of joblessness. Congress has already, in the name of deficit-reduction, significantly scaled back the help for the jobless and FMAP assistance, cutting unemployment benefits by $25 a week and removing COBRA health benefits from the bill.

Write your senators and tell them to support an extension of unemployment insurance, Medicaid assistance and TANF Emergency fund. These measures will increase the short-term deficit by less than 1 percent and actually put us on stronger economic footing in the long term by contributing to economic recovery and creating jobs.

They need to hear from Half in Ten activists that we want them to invest in job creation. Tell them to finish the job on the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes bill and to vote for an extension of unemployment insurance. We need your help to get the 60 votes to move this bill forward.

Take Action Now. Write your Senator before the vote.

Congress voted last year to help hardworking Americans make ends meet by expanding the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit. But the expansions to these critical tax credits will disappear if Congress does not act soon.

Contact your representative today to demand that they don’t let improvements to these credits expire.

Refundable tax credits like the EITC and CTC help ensure that work pays more than welfare, but they are at risk of losing much of their effectiveness. If Congress does not extend the improvements to the programs, a parent who works full time in a minimum wage position will have his or her annual credit reduced from $1,800 to $320 at the end of 2010. This would have a devastating effect on children in low-income families.

Research conducted by the Tax Policy Center reveals that 8 million children would lose the tax credit entirely if Congress allows the current Child Tax Credit improvements to expire, and an additional 10 million children would lose some of the credit. This change would lead as many as 600,000 more children to become poor and 4 million already poor children to fall deeper into poverty, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

We must stand up to preserve the 2009 reforms to the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. But there is room for additional federal leadership, as well. If the current improvement expires, a family’s first $13,000 in wages will not count toward calculating the Child Tax Credit. Congress should change the law so that all earnings count in calculating the credit. A family with two children will receive $2,000 if full-time, year-round minimum wage earnings are all counted; but the same family will receive only $312 if the improvements expire.

Contact your representative today to preserve and improve these essential programs.

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

Posted: May 18, 2010
The Huffington Post

Yesterday the Coalition on Human Needs sent out an alert asking people to call their congressional representatives in support of a bill that will extend the federal Unemployment Insurance program, provide aid to states, and fund important jobs programs. Early this morning I received some emails in response. One pointed out that joblessness is so bad that some have already exhausted all their benefits. Another talked about children’s services being cut in her state. They are going to call Congress. I hope Congress listens.

Read more »

Call your representative TODAY:  1-877-442-6801, toll-free. Ask them to support a final jobs bill that:

• Extends unemployment insurance and COBRA health benefits
• Provides relief to states in the form of Medicaid funding
• Extends the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Emergency Fund, which is slated to expire on September 30
• Includes funding for youth summer jobs

You can read a quick explanation of what’s in the bill and why each piece is important or listen to a podcast with more information.

Read more »

The economy has lost more than 8 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, including many positions that provide critical services in communities across the country. Unemployment remains distressingly high even amid economic recovery. March’s unemployment report revealed an overall jobless rate of 9.7 percent; the rate was a staggering 16.5 percent among African Americans, 12.6 percent among Latinos, 11.3 percent among women who head families, and 26.1 percent among youth. Creating decent jobs and ensuring that low-income workers can access them will be at the heart of a national strategy to cut poverty in half in the next decade.

With such shocking levels of unemployment, now is the time for bold action. The Local Jobs for America Act (H.R. 4812), sponsored by Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and 150 other members of Congress, will create or save more than 1 million public and private sector jobs in local communities while restoring services our communities need badly.

Support Local Jobs Now Read more »

Every year, we look to Congress to pass a budget resolution. The resolution defines our country’s fiscal priorities for the year and sets the framework for the federal government’s spending decisions. This framework is essential for laying the groundwork to pursue key antipoverty policies such as job creation, the earned income tax credit, and child care.

President Barack Obama’s budget request for fiscal year 2011 offered a good model, with investments in child care and expanded tax credits for low-income families. But we are hearing murmurs around Washington, D.C. that Congress may not even pass a budget resolution this year. And if they do, deficit peacocks may make a show of fiscal responsibility—without making much of a dent on deficits—by tightening the president’s already strict limit on non-defense discretionary spending, which funds critical antipoverty initiatives.

Tell your members of Congress to pass a budget that reflects the principles of shared economic recovery! Read more »

More than a million and a half Americans could lose their jobs if the Senate does not act soon. Millions of Americans will immediately lose their unemployment insurance benefits if the Senate doesn’t act to extend unemployment insurance and COBRA subsidies by the end of next week. And state and local governments are slashing budgets, getting ready to lay off firefighters, police officers, and teachers.

Our country cannot afford the job loss that will come from inaction. Every dollar of unemployment insurance benefits creates $1.90 of stimulus in the community. Our country will lose another 800,000 jobs if the Senate’s inaction cuts off benefits.

And if the Senate acts now, federal aid could also save jobs in essential public safety, education, and health services provided by state and local governments.

Your senators need to hear that now is not the time to procrastinate.

Demand that the Senate vote immediately to save jobs by extending UI benefits and COBRA subsidies through the end of 2010 and by providing aid to state and local governments.

The Senate is considering legislation to spur job creation, but it isn’t clear if the bill will include policies to create jobs for the communities that have been hit the hardest in this recession.  There are three provisions that can create or save over 2 million jobs in low-income and minority communities while helping the economy overall and lifting up all Americans.

Call your senator today at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to support a jobs package that includes:

• extension of unemployment benefits and the COBRA health insurance subsidy through the end of 2010 by February 19.
• investment in direct job creation that addresses long-neglected needs in communities.
• aid to states and localities to prevent further job losses and service cuts.

Read more »

President Obama’s proposal for the 2010 Federal Budget includes dramatic strides in the fight against poverty and for increased opportunity.  We must ensure that these important steps remain in the budget legislation as it moves through Congress.

• Call your Senators now at (202) 224-3121 in support of President Obama’s budget priorities.
• Ask organizations you belong to to sign a statement in support of the President’s budget priorities.

The budget makes investments we need to rebuild the economy from the bottom up, opening up access to jobs in renewable energy, transportation, health care, and education.  It puts us on a path towards health care for all Americans. The budget builds on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to provide protections against some of the worst ravages of the recession, making tax credits permanent that will lift at least a million children and their families out of poverty. 

It invests in Head Start; education for low income students; Pell Grants to make college more affordable; better nutrition for low-income children; and affordable housing.  It recommends fair sources of revenue to pay for these investments responsibly, while recognizing the needs of low and moderate income families.

But there is no guarantee that these priorities will stay in the budget as Congress sets to work on it. Members of Congress need to hear from us that fighting poverty and increasing opportunity must be be key principles of the budget.

• Call your Senators now at (202) 224-3121 in support of the President Obama’s budget priorities.
  
• Ask organizations you belong to to sign a statement in support of the President’s budget priorities.

Learn More: The President’s Budget:  A Dramatic Shift in Priorities from the Half in Ten partner Coalition on Human Needs

Read more »

From the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, a Half in Ten partner –

Take Action Now:
Call 202-224-3121 and urge your representative to support the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act (H.R. 1106), which would assist in stabilizing our economy by letting homeowners modify their mortgages in bankruptcy court and reduce foreclosures.

As early as this Thursday, March 5, the House of Representatives could vote on a broad package of initiatives in the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act (H.R. 1106). This bill is designed to help end our financial crisis by reducing the massive number of families losing their homes to foreclosure. It is estimated that 6,600 families are losing their homes to foreclosure every single day. Last week, President Obama announced his support for these initiatives.

A critical component of H.R. 1106 would provide homeowners with a final option to prevent foreclosure through the Chapter 13 bankruptcy process by setting up realistic and affordable mortgage payment plans. This last resort gives homeowners, local communities, and the economy an opportunity to recover from this current crisis, without cost to taxpayers.

We can’t end the financial crisis without stemming the rising tide of foreclosures. Call 202-224-3121 and urge your representative to support the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act (H.R. 1106), which would assist in stabilizing our economy by letting homeowners modify their mortgages in bankruptcy court and reduce foreclosures.

Click here to find out more information about H.R. 1106.