Letter - People Power United sends a letter to Congress seeking increases in Labor-HHS-Education appropriations for FY 2025
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People Power United joined other local, state, and national groups to a letter to Florida officials urging participation in the Summer EBT program to help fight food insecurity among low-income children. Shout out to Coalition for Human Needs for leading these efforts.
Here is the letter sent on behalf of our People Power United membership:
Copies provided by hand delivery to:
April 2024
Dear Chair Murray, Vice Chair Collins, and Ranking Member DeLauro:
The undersigned organizations—representing the full range of stakeholders supporting the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill—thank you for your leadership in supporting families and communities. We urge you to build on the previous fiscal year (FY) investment of $226.8 billion by increasing the FY 2025 allocation for the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee to a level that ensures robust and sustained investments so that these programs can meet vital needs. Given the funding cuts sustained in this bill for FY 2024, we call on you to ensure that the tight non-defense discretionary (NDD) cap for FY 2025 does not result in additional cuts to funding for the necessary services and programs this subcommittee oversees, and that funding is found to respond to increased urgent needs. We also urge you to seek funding outside the cap where needed to meet needs responsibly.
The programs and services funded by the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee have a profound impact on health and well-being, child development, educational and skills attainment, and productivity. Yet these programs have been shortchanged in the appropriations process since spending caps were first enacted in 2011 and yet again under the cap for FY 2024. We strongly recommend an allocation that addresses the gaps created from years of underfunding these essential programs. The need for these key investments has only grown over time, leaving important services and activities underfunded by billions of dollars as program funding for vital services funded under Labor-HHS-Education has not kept pace with population growth or inflation. Any additional cuts to FY 2025 NDD funding and to this bill specifically will further undermine the future strength, economic vitality, and security of our nation.
We need sustained annual increases across the Labor-HHS-Education programs to address long-standing needs, and these increases cannot come at the expense of other programs within the bill or other NDD programs. The programs in the Labor-HHS-Education bill strengthen the nation by improving Americans’ lives and meeting basic needs for a broad range of constituencies. The effects of chronic underfunding have impacted programs that support education, public health, health research, workforce development, and social services. The effects include:
• Eroding the public health and research infrastructure and workforce, limiting our ability to address disease prevention, respond to future health crises, and monitor ongoing health trends for new and emerging threats.
• Hindering efforts to address learning loss and opportunity gaps worsened by the pandemic, to raise student achievement, to address shortages in the education workforce, and to increase high school graduation rates, college affordability, and college completion.
• Leaving far too many low-income children without access to high quality preschool and other early learning opportunities.
• Providing childcare to only one in nine eligible children under age 6, with childcare providers paid so little that one in four early childhood educators take second jobs to make ends meet.
• Limiting workers’ access to skills development and education opportunities necessary to access in-demand careers for which employers are currently hiring—a key contributing factor for why the nation’s labor force participation rate remains low at a time when there are nearly two available jobs for every unemployed person.
• Preventing almost one million people from accessing the critical workforce and job training services that Congress overwhelmingly authorized in 2014. The U.S. invests less than every other industrialized country in active labor market policy, except for Mexico and Chile, and would need to invest $80 billion annually just to reach the median of our international peers.
• Ignoring the needs of individuals who find themselves without a high school credential and who need a pathway back to education, employment, and full participation in their communities.
• Providing inadequate resources to mitigate the worsening substance use disorder crisis in communities throughout the country.
• While Congress started to reverse long-term Maternal and Child Health Block Grant funding losses in FY 2023, in FY 2024 funding was cut, bringing funding to more than 10 percent below the levels in FY 2010 when taking inflation into account.
• Failing to keep pace with growing child welfare needs, especially as communities grapple with the destructive impact of substance use disorders on families. Child Welfare Services funding, for example, was flat-funded again in FY 2024, leaving it more than 27 percent below the FY 2010 level, adjusted for inflation.
• The average cost of home heating has increased 24.5% since the start of the pandemic, and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the federal program to help with residential energy costs, only has enough funding to serve 1 in 6 eligible households. Congress provided $2 billion in supplemental funding in FY23 to help families pay for the rising cost of energy, helping 7.2 million households access energy assistance. This winter, costs have not come down, but the supplemental funding has not been renewed and base funding for FY 2024 was increased by only $25 million.
We urge you to commit to improving the lives of Americans by boosting the allocation for the Labor HHS-Education bill for FY 2025 to provide needed services for the American public while ensuring continued support for NDD programs. If you have questions about this letter, please contact:
• Sarah Abernathy, Committee for Education Funding (abernathy@cef.org);
• Erin Will Morton, Coalition for Health Funding (emorton@dc-crd.com);
• Steve Voytek, Campaign to Invest in America’s Workforce (Steve.Voytek@flpadvisors.com); or
• Meredith Dodson, Coalition on Human Needs (mdodson@chn.org).
Sincerely,
(Signers as of 4/26)
(ICAN) Increasing Capabilities Access Network
9/11 Day
AACTE: American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
AcademyHealth
Access Technologies,Inc. / Oregon Statewide AT Program
ACOSA
ADAP Advocacy
Advance CTE Advocates for Children of New York
AFSCME LOCAL1659
AFT
Afterschool Alliance
AIDS United
AIHA
Alabama CASE
All4Ed
Allergy & Asthma Network
Alliance for a Just Society
Alliance for Adult Education Foundation
America Forward
American Academy of HIV Medicine
American Academy of Neurology
American Alliance of Museums
American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research American Association of Colleges of Nursing
American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine American Atheists
American Brain Coalition
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) American College of Clinical Pharmacy
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists American College of Physicians
American College of Radiology
American Council on Education
American Epilepsy Society
American Federation of School Administrators
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
American Geriatrics Society
American Heart Association
American Indian Higher Education Consortium
American Library Association
American Liver Foundation
American Lung Association
American Music Therapy Association
American Nurses Association
American Occupational Therapy Association
American Physiological Society
American Psychological Association Services American Public Health Association
American Samoa Alliance against Domestic & Sexual Violence American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET)
American Society for Reproductiv
American Society of Hematology
American Society of Nephrology
American Society of Pediatric Nephrology
American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene American Society on Aging
American Statistical Association
AMORC
Anxiety and Depression Association of America
APPRENTICESHIP CONSULTING SERVICES LLC
Arbor Research Collaborative for Health
Arise for Social Justice
Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Arizona Council of Administrators for Arizona (AZCASE) Arthritis Foundation
Ascentria Care Alliance
Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence
Assistive Technology of Ohio
Association for Career and Technical Education
Association for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology Association for Research in Vision & Ophthalmology Association for Special Children and Families
Association of American Cancer Institutes
Association of American Universities
Association of Assistive Technology Act Program
Association of Community College Trustees
Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities
Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE) Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
Association of Public Data Users
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO)
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health Association of State and Territorial Health Officials ASTOP, Inc. Sexual Abuse Center
Autism Society of America
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
BeLEAF Survivors
Benedict Center
Big Cities Health Coalition
Biophysical Society
Brightpoint
Browning Public School District #9
Buen Vecino
CACNA1A Foundation
CADASIL Association Inc.
CAEL (Council for Adult and Experiential Learning) California Academy of Sciences
California Alliance of Child and Family Services California Center for Rural Policy
California Foundation for Independent Living Centers Californians for Disability Rights Inc
Campaign for New York Health
CAP Tulsa
Capitol Advisors Group, LLC
Cardio Facio Cutaneous syndrome International (CFC) Caring Ambassadors Program
Caring Across Generations
CARITAS
Celiac Disease Foundation
Center for Employment Training
Center for Law and Social Policy
Center for Popular Democracy
Central Iowa Workforce Development Board
Centro de Servicios Para Campesinos
Chiefs for Change
Child Welfare League of America
Childhood Obesity Initiative
Children Now
Children's HealthWatch
Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
Church Women United of Columbus & Franklin County Ohio Church World Service
Cia Siab, Inc.
Cindy Smith
Clover CMCCAA Head Start Program
Coalition for Community Schools
Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE)
Coalition on Human Needs
coasap
Code.org
CoGenerate
Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) Color of GI Illnesses
Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Colorado Youth Corps Association
Commercial Vehicle Training Association
Committee for Children
Committee for Education Funding (CEF)
Common Good Iowa
Common Sense Media
Community Access National Network
Community Action of Orleans and Genesee
Community Action Partnership of Lake County
Community Bridges
Community Servings
Compass Affordable Housing
COMPOSTPYLONAMERICA
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces
CoSN – Consortium for School Networking
Council for Exceptional Children
Council for Opportunity in Education (COE)
Council of Administrators of Special Education
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Foundation Council on Social Work Education
Council on Undergraduate Research
Courage California
Cross Excavation & Auger
CSNK2A1 Foundation
CURE Epilepsy
CureSHANK
DakotaLink
Danny Did Foundation
DC Action
Disability Law Center
Disability Law Center of Alaska
disAbility Law Center of Virginia Disability Rights Arizona formerly Arizona Center for Disability Law Disability Rights Arkansas
Disability Rights Florida
Disability Rights Iowa
Disability Rights Maryland
Disability Rights Michigan
Disability Rights MS
Disability Rights Nebraska
Disability Rights New Jersey
Disability Rights North Carolina
Disability Rights Oregon
Disability Rights Pennsylvania
Disability Rights South Carolina
Disability Rights South Dakota
Disability Rights TN
Disability Rights Wisconsin
Dup15q Alliance
Early Care & Education Pathways to Success (ECEPTS) Early Childhood Quality Council
Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board
Easterseals
EBQ Consulting LLC
EDGE Consulting Partners
Education Reform Now
Educators for Excellence
Embrace Services, Inc.
Employment & Employer Services (E&ES)
Empower Missouri
Endocrine Society
Entomological Society of America
Epilepsies Action Network (EAN)
Epilepsy Alliance America
Epilepsy Foundation
Epilepsy Leadership Council
Epitome of Epilepsy
Esperanza United
Famicos Foundation
Family & Children's Place
Family Advocates
Family Centered Treatment Foundation
Family Voices NJ
FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education)
Fast-Track Cities Institute Federation of American Hospitals
Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences Fellowship Baptist Church
First Congregational UCC
First Focus Campaign for Children
First Ward CDC
Florida Legal Services, Inc.
Florida Policy Institute
Food Bank Northern Nevada
Food Research & Action Center (FRAC)
FoodCorps
Forbes Field Associates
Forest Park District 91
Forum for Youth Investment
Foster Care to Success
Foundation for Healthy Generations
Franklin Primary Health Center
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Friends, Inc.
Full Plates Full Potential
Georgia Alliance to End Homelessness
Georgia-CASE
Gesher Human Services
GLSEN
Good Days
Goodwill Industries International, Inc.
GRACE/End Child Poverty California
Green & Healthy Homes Initiative
GRIN2B Foundation
HAVEN
Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice Hawaii Children's Action Network Speaks!
Head Start CFDP, Inc.
Health Care for America Now (HCAN)
Health Care Voices
Healthy Teen Network
HealthyWomen
Heart Failure Society of America
Hereditary Angioedema Association (HAEA)
HIGH IMPACT Mission-Based Consulting and Training HIMSS
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
Hispanic Federation HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute
HIV Medicine Association
Hope For Hypothalamic Hamartomas
Hunger Free America - Idaho
Hunger Free America Inc.
Hunger Free Nyc.Org
IC&RC
iFoster
Illinois Action for Children
Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Illinois Collaboration on Youth
Illinois Hunger Coalition
Immanuel Community Services
Impact Fund
Indiana Council of Administrators of Special Education Indivisible Marin
Indivisible Media City Burbank
Infectious Diseases Society of America
Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) International Nutritional Sustainability Partners Islamic Relief USA
Jewish Family Service of Colorado
Jewish Family Services, Inc.
Jewish Women International
JFF
Just Harvest
JustLeadership USA
Ka Poe o Kakaako Inc
Kansas Association of Special Education Administrators Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs Kentucky Voices for Health
Khmer Health Advocates Inc.
Kids Above All
Knowledge Alliance
Knowledgepanel
Koolen-de Vries Syndrome Foundation
Lake Region Special Education
Lakeshore Foundation
Latinos for Education
LEARN Regional Educational Service Center Learning Forward
Legal Momentum Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) Foundation
Little Listeners of the Carolina's
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
Long Beach Gray Panthers
Lupus and Allied Diseases Association, Inc.
Lupus Foundation of America
Maine Center for Economic Policy
Maryland Assistive Technology Program
Maternal and Child Health Access
Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance
Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc.
Meet the Need NC
MENTOR
Methodist Action Program
Metro New York Health Care for All
MICAH- Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing Michigan Nonprofit Association
Michigan Works! Association
Midwest Urban Strategies, Inc.
Minnesota Administrators for Special Education Minnesota Association of School Administrators Minnesota Budget Project
Minnetonka Public Schools
Mississippi Center for Justice
Missouri Council of Administrators of Special Education MMLA/MDLC
Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency, Inc. MomsRising
Monsoon Asians & Pacific Islanders in Solidarity Montana Conservation Corps
Montana Council of Administrators of Special Education Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California Move To Amend
Muscular Dystrophy Association
Music Will
NAFIS
NASTAD
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd National Afterschool Association
National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research
National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
National Alliance to End Sexual Violence
National AmeriCorps Seniors Association National Association for Music Education
National Association of Counsel for Children
National Association of County and City Health Officials National Association of Elementary School Principals National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators National Association of Graduate and Professional Students National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners National Association of Regional Councils
National Association of RSVP Directors
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) National Association of Social Workers
National Association of State Directors of Special Education National Association of Workforce Boards
National Center for Families Learning
National Center for Learning Disabilities
National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma and Mental Health National Coalition of Health Education Organizations National Coalition of STD Directors
National Community Action Partnership
National Council for Community and Education Partnerships National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
National Council on Aging
National Disability Institute
National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)
National Education Association (NEA)
National Employment Law Project
National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention National Head Start Association
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
National Health Law Program
National Immigration Law Center
National Job Corps Association
National Network of Public Health Institutes
National Network to End Domestic Violence
National Organization of API Ending Sexual Violence National Parents Union
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Rural Education Association
National Rural Health Association
National Safety Council National Science Teaching Association
National Skills Coalition
National Summer Learning Association (NSLA)
National Urban League
National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR)
National Youth Employment Coalition
Natural Science Collections Alliance
NAWDP
Neighbor to family, INC
Neighborhood Improvement Association
Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies
Nevada Association of School Superintendents
Nevada Public Health Association
New Beginnings
New Beginnings APFV
New Jersey Association of School Adminisitrators
New Mexico Voices for Children
NJPHA
North Carolina Association of Workforce Development Boards (NCAWDB)
North Dakota Assistive
North Dakota Protection & Advocacy Project
Northeast Iowa Workforce Development Board
Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases Northwest Oregon Works
NY StateWide Senior Action Council
NYCASE
NYU Langone HEalth
Oacac Headstart
Office of the Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie
Ohio Alliance To End Sexual Violence
Ohio Association of Foodbanks
Ohio Association of Pupil Services Administratorsistrators Ohio Domestic Violence Network
Oklahoma Directors of Special Services
Oregon Workforce Partnership
Organizations Concerned About Rural Education
Our Children Oregon
Our Piece of the Pie, Inc.
Owatonna Public Schools
P.O.S.T
Pa Council of Administrators of Special Education PA Education Association
Paraquad
Parent as Teachers
Parents as Teachers
Partner4Work
Partners for Rural Impact
People Power United
Placer Independent Resource Services
Platelet Disorder Support Association
Population Association of America
Poverty Project at the Institute for Policy Studies
PPP3CA Hope Foundation
PrEP4All
Prevent Blindness
Prevention Institute
Private citizen
Pro-Choice North Carolina
Progressive Policy Institute
Project HOPE
Project Hope of Gunnison Valley
Project Sleep
Protect All Children's Environment
Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK)
Public Allies, Inc.
Public Citizen
Public Health Institute
Public Justice Center
Rape Crisis Center Inc
Rebuild America's Schools
Results for America
Retired
Rhode Island Association for the Education of Young Children (RIAEYC) Ring14 USA
Rise Up WV
RiverStone Health
ROC United
RocACTS Religious Leaders caucus
Rockford Housing Authority
Rsearch!America
Rural Advocates For Independent Living, Inc.
Rural Schools Association of New York
S.W.A.A,
Safe States Alliance Safer Foundation
SALUD-Multicultural Health Coalition of Storm Lake San Diego for Every Child
San Diego Workforce Partnership
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
SBP
School Administrators of Montana
School Superintendents of Alabama
SchoolHouse Connection
SEMCA Michigan Work's
SER Metro-Detroit, Jobs for Progress, Inc.
Serve Washington
Service Employees International Union
SHINE Syndrome Foundation
SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change
Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Western Province Leadership SkillSource
SLC6A1 Connect
Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Society for Neuroscience
Society for Public Health Education
Society for Women's Health Research
Society of Interventional Radiology
Society of Women Engineers
Southeast Michigan Community Alliance
Southeastern Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Disease Southwest Fair Housing Council
SPAN Parent Advocacy Network
State Higher Education Executive Officers Association Stepping Stones, Inc.
Stop TB USA
Student Association for STEM Advocacy
Student Veterans of America
STXBP1 Foundation
Susan G. Komen
SynGAP Research Fund
TASH
Tatton Brown Rahman Syndrome Community
Teach For America
Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children Texas Association Against Sexual Assault
The Advocacy Institute The AIDS Institute
The Autistic People of Color Fund
The Center for Women and Families, Inc
The Consortium of Social Science Associations
The Corps Network
The Early Learning Center
the Educare Network
The Education Trust
The FamilieSCN2A Foundation
the Forum for Youth Investment
The Massachusetts Administrators for Special Education (ASE) The MED13L Foundation
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research The National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health The National Domestic Violence Hotline
The National Pancreas Foundation
The Rory Belle Foundation
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
TOOTRIS Child Care On-Demand
Tourette Association of America
Treatment Action Group
Treatment Communities of America
Trust for America's Health
TSC Alliance
Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine U.S. Pain Foundation
UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science Center UNIDOS
Union for Reform Judaism
United Church of Christ
United States Workforce Associations
United Way of King County
University of California System
University of Minnesota
Urban Strategies Council
USAging
Utahns Against Hunger
Vaccinate Your Family
Virginia Community Rights Network
Vivent Health
Voices for National Service
Voices of Hope, Inc.wAIHA Warriors Waldo Housing Assistance Center
Washington CASE
Washington Defender Association
Washington State Community Action Partnership Washington State Public Health Association West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing When The Trumpet Sounds
Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault Wisconsin Council for Administrators of Special Services Women of Reform Judaism
WomenRising, Inc.
Workforce Development Board HMO & CDO, NY Workforce Partnership
World Education, a division of JSI
YMCA of the USA
Young Women's Project
Youth and Women for Change in Eswatini
YouthBuild Gary
YouthBuild USA
YWCA Cambridge
YWCA Champaign County
YWCA of Lubbock
ZeroV
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People Power United champions progressive values and power to the people. We are a group of people who believe in the possibility of change and work to make it happen. Whether it's supporting a candidate, fighting to pass legislation, or working to change our culture, our members are committed to an inclusive and progressive future.