Looking for hot takes on Biden's #AmericanFamiliesPlan?

@TCFdotorg's got you covered with this round-up of reactions from me, @pelhamprog @JulieKashen @drtaylor09 & more 👇

tcf.org/content/about-…
@TCFdotorg @pelhamprog @JulieKashen @drtaylor09 tl;dr on my take:

Together with the #AmericanRescuePlan and the #AmericanJobsPlan, the #AmericanFamiliesPlan represents an historic commitment to addressing America’s shameful and unjust levels of poverty and inequality.

2/
@TCFdotorg @pelhamprog @JulieKashen @drtaylor09 On the income security front, there's lots to be excited about in the #AmericanFamiliesPlan -- including:

* making the EITC expansion for "childless" workers permanent
* permanent full refundability of the Child Tax Credit
* historic expansions of school meals, and more.

3/
@TCFdotorg @pelhamprog @JulieKashen @drtaylor09 While the #AmericanFamiliesPlan’s 4-year extension of the ARP's other historic CTC expansions is a welcome & significant step, Congress should act to make them PERMANENT.

Kids' & families’ economic futures should not be left up in the air with an arbitrary expiration date.

4/
@TCFdotorg @pelhamprog @JulieKashen @drtaylor09 And while Biden's #AmericanFamiliesPlan unfortunately does not (yet) include his promises to update SSI, 51 members of Congress have joined together to call on Biden & Congress to include urgently needed SSI improvements in the next recovery package.



5/
@TCFdotorg @pelhamprog @JulieKashen @drtaylor09 We must now turn to Congress to prioritize these long-overdue SSI updates as the next package comes together on the hill—to ensure SSI provides a lifeline to economic security + dignity for disabled & older Americans instead of consigning them to deep & inescapable poverty. /end

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Rebecca Vallas

Rebecca Vallas Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @rebeccavallas

29 Apr
The @SenateFinance Cmte is holding a hearing this AM on @SocialSecurity's "customer service" during the pandemic.

This may sound boring, but here's the subtext: SSI applications & awards are at *historic lows* -- and Trump appointees are still running SSA.

So imma live-tweet...
@SenateFinance @SocialSecurity Up first is Grace Kim, deputy commissioner for operations at @SocialSecurity.

She's trying to paint a rosy picture, saying "reaching vulnerable communities is our priority."

The data say otherwise.
@SenateFinance @SocialSecurity Up next is Kascadare Causeya, Program Manager at Central City Concern in Portland, OR.

He's speaking powerfully about major barriers to access.

Names lack of access to technology as a huge gap, since so much of what SSA has emphasized during the pandemic has been online.
Read 62 tweets
31 Mar
THREAD: As news rolls out about the next round of economic recovery measures—here’s a plea for the Biden team not to forget a critical program for low-income seniors & disabled people that’s been left to wither on the vine for decades:

Supplemental Security Income, aka SSI.
Nearly 8 million low-income seniors and people with disabilities rely on SSI for subsistence income.

The income support SSI provides is critical—but benefits are so meager, they consign people to abject poverty.

The max SSI benefit for 2021 is $794/mo, about $26 a day.

2/
Putting SSI's sub-poverty benefit levels in context:

They’re not enough to afford rent in any state in the U.S.—even spending 100% of your monthly benefit on rent.

Average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment: $1,063/mo—128% of an SSI recipient’s monthly income.

3/
Read 12 tweets
20 Feb
THREAD: Grim new data from the @SocialSecurity Administration show a *huge* drop in low-income elderly & disabled folks able to access SSI during the pandemic. Field office closures are clearly part of this, but there are deeper problems too. Let’s unpack. npr.org/2021/02/19/969…
First, the data: January 2021 marked the lowest number of new SSI awards per capita in the program’s history. (The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th lowest months were also during the pandemic, so this has been a steady and worsening trend.) 2/
This is troubling on many levels. SSI provides critical if meager income support to the very poorest seniors & people with disabilities. It also provides access to Medicaid. One would hope to see *rising* numbers of people helped given the dramatic increase in need. 3/
Read 12 tweets
20 Jan
Nothing says the end of the Trump administration quite like the simultaneous withdrawal of two major regulatory attacks on Food Stamps (!!!)
One of the proposals on its own would have stripped over 3 million people of food assistance and 1 million kids of free school meals:
Getting these rules withdrawn is a *HUGE* win for the #HandsOffSNAP community, who submitted an avalanche of public comments underscoring how the cruelty, once again, was the point.
Read 4 tweets
13 Nov 20
so hey, remember how the Trump admin was trying to strip hundreds of thousands of disabled people of #SocialSecurity, to “save” $2.6 billion in disability benefits, via a backdoor administrative action?
despite receiving an avalanche of comments from the disability community on the harm this cruelty-is-the-point proposed rule would do...

just days after losing the election...

Trump’s #SocialSecurity administration has now sent the cuts to OMB for approval as a final rule:
oh and did I mention they’re doing it in the middle of a pandemic
Read 6 tweets
21 Apr 20
BREAKING: @AGKarlRacine, @NewYorkStateAG & a coalition of 22 Attorneys General have sent a 🔥 letter calling on Trump & Ag. @SecretarySonny Perdue to immediately suspend a rulemaking that could slash Food Stamps for 3.1 million people amid #COVIDー19 if allowed to take effect.
Refresher on what the rule would do, as well as the politics (like how this is another instance of Trump slashing critical programs by fiat when he doesn’t get his way in Congress)
Read 6 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!