If you’ve refilled a prescription lately, your pharmacist may have reminded you that free COVID test kits will soon be a thing of the past. Other safety net enhancements enacted to fight the pandemic are ending as well.
As many as 15 million people—nearly 1 in 5—will lose Medicaid/CHIP coverage when the COVID public health emergency ends, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Children comprise more than one-third of those affected.
Expanded SNAP benefits—also known as food stamps—are expiring as inflation pushes grocery costs ever higher. Some in the GOP caucus favor further cuts even though nearly half of SNAP’s 41 million beneficiaries are children.
While GOP leadership continues to call for massive cuts spending in federal spending, it has not released either a cohesive plan or proposed budget. President Biden will unveil his FY2024 budget proposal next week.
On Feb. 28, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on President Biden’s proposal to cancel student loan debt. That same day, NEA President Becky Pringle will join the People’s Rally for Student Debt Cancellation, beginning at 8:00 a.m. and ending at noon. Check out the livestream on our Facebook page!
In solidarity,
Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association
Translating President Biden’s plan to build back better into action includes paying for it—and that means requiring corporations and the top 1 percent to pay their fair share.
CHEER: Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced H.R. 1088 to posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress in 1968.
