Latest news with #lowincome
New York Times
20 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Trump Administration Live Updates: Senate Republicans Push Ahead With Plan to Cut Food Stamps
Economists have found the Republicans' signature legislation is likely to deliver great benefits to the rich while taking away benefits like food aid from the poor. Senate Republicans said on Thursday that they would forge ahead with a plan to slash federal food assistance to the poor, after they devised a workaround that would allow them to cut the program to help pay for their sprawling package of tax cuts. The proposal, which would force states to shoulder new costs for providing food stamps, is part of a larger set of changes targeting federal safety-net programs that may result in millions of lower-income Americans losing access to aid. For decades, the federal government has shouldered the primary financial burden for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or S.N.A.P., which provides about 42 million low-income Americans on average with monthly food benefits. Its supporters say the payments are essential, with roughly one in seven Americans reporting inconsistent access to food in 2023, government data show. But Republicans insist S.N.A.P. is riddled with waste, fraud and abuse, and they have sought to scale back its benefits as part of the package of tax cuts they are crafting with the input and support of President Trump. The House version of that measure, which party lawmakers adopted in May, aimed to impose new work requirements on recipients while seeing states finance a potentially significant portion of the program. A similar push in the Senate quickly ran into procedural roadblocks, after the chamber's parliamentarian ruled last week that the proposal to cut S.N.A.P. did not comport with the special budgetary rules that allow Republicans to fast-track their domestic policy legislation. That, in effect, meant it could not be included in the bill. But Senate Republicans said on Thursday that they had retooled some of the mechanics of their plan, ultimately earning the parliamentarian's approval. Much as before, the new approach would shift a percentage of the cost of providing S.N.A.P. benefits to the states based on the percentage of erroneous payments they report in a given fiscal year. But Republicans primarily tweaked how that rate of payment would be computed under the system, which would take effect in 2028. Republicans did not release the full details of the changes. Senator John Boozman, a Republican from Arkansas who leads the chamber's agriculture committee, said in a statement that the new plan 'encourages states to adopt better practices, reduce error rates, be better stewards of taxpayer dollars, and prioritize the resources for those who truly need it.' Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the panel, said in a statement that the proposal would 'cut food assistance for millions of Americans to give tax breaks to billionaires.' The battle over S.N.A.P. nonetheless has emerged as a significant political touchstone for Republicans, as economists have found that the party's signature legislation is likely to deliver great benefits to the rich while taking away from the poor. Both Mr. Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have rejected these findings, and some of the party's most conservative lawmakers have sought even steeper cuts to federal programs, including Medicaid, though some of their proposals have faced their own roadblocks with the Senate's rule-keepers. Studying the House version of the bill, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office previously found that the full suite of Republican changes to S.N.A.P. might save $285 billion over the next 9 years, offsetting a small fraction of a bill that is expected to add more than $3 trillion to the federal debt over that period. But analysts also determined that the state funding requirement, if implemented, could result in the reduction or elimination of benefits for 1.3 million poor Americans in an average month. Some states could even opt to stop offering S.N.A.P. entirely if their budgets could not afford the new expense, the report found. The Congressional Budget Office has yet to produce a fiscal analysis of the Senate bill. Earlier this week, Gov. Josh Stein of North Carolina, a Democrat, led 23 states in urging Republicans in Congress to preserve existing federal funding for food stamps, warning that their states may not be able to cover additional costs. 'Cuts to S.N.A.P. will mean that millions of Americans won't get the food they need for their families,' they wrote. 'And it will result in too many Americans forced to survive rather than thrive.'
Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
ECB should change inflation target, researchers to tell policymakers
FRANKFURT - The ECB should abandon targeting headline inflation and focus instead on price growth in discretionary spending to protect the bloc's poorest, a paper to be presented to policymakers at the bank's preeminent research conference argued on Friday. The ECB targets inflation at 2% and a soon-to-be-concluded review will not even discuss the definition of the target as policymakers have long argued that using a different measures, like underlying inflation, or figures incorporating housings costs, could sow confusion. But the paper written for the ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal next week argues that the current framework disproportionately hurts low income workers and leads to an inferior outcome for society. The logic is that after an interest rate hike, discretionary spending contracts significantly more than needed, triggering a fall in labour demand in sectors producing discretionary goods and services. "These sectors employ a larger share of low-income, hand-to-mouth workers, whose consumption is highly sensitive to income fluctuations," the paper agued. Thus, the initial drop in discretionary spending cascades into a broader decline of overall demand, amplified by this impact on lower-income households. "By targeting discretionary inflation, the central bank provides households with an incentive to smooth their discretionary spending; in turn, this ameliorates the negative employment effects on hand-to-mouth workers in discretionary industries," the paper argued. Although this would lead to a more accommodative policy stance, stabilising discretionary spending inflation allows the economy to more effectively close the so-called output gap, or the difference between potential and actual output, the paper argued.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Federal judge orders Labor Department to keep Job Corps running during lawsuit
NEW YORK — A federal judge on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction to stop the U.S. Department of Labor from shutting down Job Corps , a residential program for low-income youth, until a lawsuit against the move is resolved. U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter made his decision after a hearing in Manhattan. It bolsters a temporary restraining order Carter issued earlier this month, when he directed the Department of Labor to cease removing Job Corps students from housing, terminating jobs or otherwise suspending the nationwide program without congressional approval.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Federal judge orders Labor Department to keep Job Corps running during lawsuit
A federal judge on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction to stop the U.S. Department of Labor from shutting down Job Corps, a residential program for low-income youth, until a lawsuit against the move is resolved. U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter made his decision after a hearing in Manhattan. It bolsters a temporary restraining order Carter issued earlier this month, when he directed the Department of Labor to cease removing Job Corps students from housing, terminating jobs or otherwise suspending the nationwide program without congressional approval. Founded in 1964, Job Corps aims to help teenagers and young adults who struggled to finish traditional high school and find jobs. The program provides tuition-free housing at residential centers, training, meals and health care. 'Once Congress has passed legislation stating that a program like the Job Corps must exist, and set aside funding for that program, the DOL is not free to do as it pleases; it is required to enforce the law as intended by Congress,' Carter wrote in the ruling. The Labor Department said in late May that it would pause operations at all contractor-operated Job Corps centers by the end of June. It said the publicly funded program yielded poor results for its participants at a high cost to taxpayers, citing low student graduation rates and growing budget deficits. As the centers prepared to close, many students were left floundering. Some moved out of the centers and into shelters that house homeless people. 'Many of these young people live in uncertainty, so it takes time to get housing and restore a lot of those supports you need when you've been away from your community for so long,' said Edward DeJesus, CEO of Social Capital Builders, a Maryland-based educational consultancy which provides training on relationship-building at several Job Corps sites. 'So the abrupt closure of these sites is really harmful for the welfare of young adults who are trying to make a change in their lives.' The National Job Corps Association, a nonprofit trade organization comprised of business, labor, volunteer and academic organizations, sued to block the suspension of services, alleging it would displace tens of thousands of vulnerable young people and force mass layoffs. The attorneys general of 20 U.S. states filed an amicus brief supporting the group's motion for a preliminary injunction in the case. Monet Campbell learned about the Job Corps' center in New Haven, Connecticut, while living in a homeless shelter a year ago. The 21-year-old has since earned her certified nursing assistant license and phlebotomy and electrocardiogram certifications through Job Corps, and works at a local nursing home. 'I always got told all my life, 'I can't do this, I can't do that.' But Job Corps really opened my eyes to, 'I can do this,'' said Campbell, who plans to start studing nursing at Central Connecticut State University in August. The program has been life-changing in other ways, she said. Along with shelter and job training, Campbell received food, mental health counseling, medical treatment and clothing to wear to job interviews. 'I hadn't been to the doctor's in a while,' she said. 'I was able to do that, going to checkups for my teeth, dental, all that. So they really just helped me with that.' Campbell said she and other Job Corps participants in New Haven feel like they're in limbo, given the program's possible closure. They recently had to move out for a week when the federal cuts were initially imposed, and Campbell stayed with a friend. ____ Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut contributed to this report.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Federal judge orders Labor Department to keep Job Corps running during lawsuit
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction to stop the U.S. Department of Labor from shutting down Job Corps, a residential program for low-income youth, until a lawsuit against the move is resolved. U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter made his decision after a hearing in Manhattan. It bolsters a temporary restraining order Carter issued earlier this month, when he directed the Department of Labor to cease removing Job Corps students from housing, terminating jobs or otherwise suspending the nationwide program without congressional approval. Founded in 1964, Job Corps aims to help teenagers and young adults who struggled to finish traditional high school and find jobs. The program provides tuition-free housing at residential centers, training, meals and health care. 'Once Congress has passed legislation stating that a program like the Job Corps must exist, and set aside funding for that program, the DOL is not free to do as it pleases; it is required to enforce the law as intended by Congress,' Carter wrote in the ruling. The Labor Department said in late May that it would pause operations at all contractor-operated Job Corps centers by the end of June. It said the publicly funded program yielded poor results for its participants at a high cost to taxpayers, citing low student graduation rates and growing budget deficits. As the centers prepared to close, many students were left floundering. Some moved out of the centers and into shelters that house homeless people. 'Many of these young people live in uncertainty, so it takes time to get housing and restore a lot of those supports you need when you've been away from your community for so long,' said Edward DeJesus, CEO of Social Capital Builders, a Maryland-based educational consultancy which provides training on relationship-building at several Job Corps sites. 'So the abrupt closure of these sites is really harmful for the welfare of young adults who are trying to make a change in their lives.' The National Job Corps Association, a nonprofit trade organization comprised of business, labor, volunteer and academic organizations, sued to block the suspension of services, alleging it would displace tens of thousands of vulnerable young people and force mass layoffs. The attorneys general of 20 U.S. states filed an amicus brief supporting the group's motion for a preliminary injunction in the case. Monet Campbell learned about the Job Corps' center in New Haven, Connecticut, while living in a homeless shelter a year ago. The 21-year-old has since earned her certified nursing assistant license and phlebotomy and electrocardiogram certifications through Job Corps, and works at a local nursing home. 'I always got told all my life, 'I can't do this, I can't do that.' But Job Corps really opened my eyes to, 'I can do this,'' said Campbell, who plans to start studing nursing at Central Connecticut State University in August. The program has been life-changing in other ways, she said. Along with shelter and job training, Campbell received food, mental health counseling, medical treatment and clothing to wear to job interviews. 'I hadn't been to the doctor's in a while,' she said. 'I was able to do that, going to checkups for my teeth, dental, all that. So they really just helped me with that.' Campbell said she and other Job Corps participants in New Haven feel like they're in limbo, given the program's possible closure. They recently had to move out for a week when the federal cuts were initially imposed, and Campbell stayed with a friend. ____ Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut contributed to this report.
