PWN is throwing down for the election and using our time wisely. Instead of doing the normal deep dive into a hot topic, we’re giving you links this month so you can read more about the latest on the federal budget deal. 

Here’s the high level overview: Congress was supposed to pass a new set of appropriations bills to fund the federal government in October 2023. However, due to clashes between House Republicans and Democrats, they did not. The federal government continues to be funded by temporary stopgap measures that maintain funding at current levels. The most recent stopgap measure has extended funding to March 1st for some departments, such as Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and March 8th for others, such as Health and Human Services (HHS) - big ones for HIV funding!

As these negotiations continue, it is critically important to keep advocating for full funding of essential programs such as HOPWA and Ryan White.

• For a general explainer on how Congress funds the government, look here.
• To read about the anti-LGBTQ riders that advocacy groups are fighting against in the budget debate,  click here. Many organizations are coming together to push back against these provisions.
• To read more on the debates behind the most recent stopgap measure, check out this article.

• The Center for Disease Control (CDC) published data surveying 1,600 trans women and found a strong correlation between anti-trans discrimination in housing, employment, and overall access to healthcare. Researchers further concluded that this discrimination prevents trans women from accessing PrEP and exposes them to possible incarceration, both of which heighten the risk of HIV transmission. 

• As Georgia considers a possible full Medicaid expansion during the start of the state legislative session, lawmakers are also grappling with the failure of a previous expansion plan that forced low-income people to work to qualify for insurance. Over the four months the program has been in place, only 1,800 additional people have enrolled, compared to the 31,000 sign-ups projected by Governor Brian Kemp. 

• This month, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee heard testimony from long COVID patients and researchers on expanding clinical trials and improving physician education. Testimony highlighted the debilitating nature of long COVID, in addition to the disparate impacts on people of color living in rural communities.

• On the state level, reproductive justice advocates across the country are organizing to get abortion rights on the ballot in 2024.
• • In Colorado, Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom began collecting signatures for a ballot initiative to preserve abortion rights in their state’s constitution. Eight other states have initiated similar campaigns.
  • Missouri was the first state to ban abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe. Now, the coalition Missourians for Constitutional Freedom have launched a signature-gathering campaign for a ballot initiative which would guarantee the right of abortion to the point of fetal viability.
• In the judiciary, a federal court in Texas has ruled that the state has the power to ban emergency abortions, despite guidance from the Biden administration to the contrary. Meanwhile, the Arizona Supreme Court continues to weigh a near total abortion ban.

• The newly permanent Summer EBT program will provide summer grocery money to 21 million children across 35 states. To qualify for summer EBT, applicants must be families with children who are eligible for free or reduced price school lunches.

• The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have approved Texas’ application to continue Texas moms’ Medicaid coverage for one year after childbirth. This comes after the federal government denied Texas’ application for the same protection due to language which intended to exclude women who had abortions.

• The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to temporarily allow U.S. Border Patrol agents remove razor-wire fencing on Texas’ border with Mexico. The fencing was placed by Texas officials as a part of Governor Greg Abbott’s racist immigration plan, titled “Operation Lonestar.”

• The Georgia House of Representatives is expected to pass a bill that would expand cash bail and criminalize charitable bail organizations within the state. Though the provisions on expanding cash bail were expected, the criminalization of bail funds was a last minute addition that did not appear in the state’s online legislation management system until the evening of January 31st.

• The New York City Council voted to override Mayor Eric Adams’ vetoes on a solitary confinement ban and a bill to document police stops. These bills were introduced by grassroots reform groups in response to a recent surge of deaths in city jails, many of which were a result of solitary confinement.

• The U.S. Senate has rejected Senator Bernie Sanders’ push to tie Israeli military aid to a requirement that the State Department produce a report on Israel’s human rights violations in Gaza. The White House also staunchly opposed Sanders’ resolution.