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The chatter in Washington has been focused on the looming because Congress is unable to agree on how to fund the federal government. Meanwhile, everyday Americans are experiencing rising costs for housing, childcare, health care, food and other essential needs. I know I’m not alone in my with some members of Congress who are exploiting the situation by pushing to cut the social safety net.

The situation highlights how funding bills – as dull as they seem – represent some of the most important decisions by elected officials that affect the lives of everyday people. With that in mind, here are five key anti-poverty programs that are far too often at risk during these budget fights:

• Head Start provides quality education to children under 5 from families with low incomes. About of Head Start children attend programs in the South, the focus region of the Southern Poverty Law Center. If Congress fails to continue funding this program, Head Start grantees could close their centers as they did during the .
• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides nutritious food and services to mothers with low incomes, toddlers and preschools. But there is already a significant funding shortfall that will force states to turn away eligible families for the . Three states served by the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ – Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana – are among the with the highest rates of food insecurity for children. Two other states with an ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ presence – Georgia and Florida – rank ninth and 11^th for child hunger, respectively.
• The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) helps provide in the U.S. with access to food. The program reduces poverty, improves health outcomes and enhances economic security for families. Our five focus states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi) have some of the nation’s highest SNAP participation rates. Louisiana ranks second with of residents participating in the program.
• Medicaid provides health care coverage for , allowing millions of people access to life-saving prescriptions, complex medical treatments, preventive services, long-term care and other essential health care. Protecting people with low incomes from high medical costs reduces the risks of being pushed further into poverty and builds healthier communities. Medicaid is hugely impactful to our region since the Southeast experiences more adverse and when compared to the rest of the country.
• Affordable housing and rental assistance play a critical role in the lives of many people. These programs , move families out of poverty and improve environmental conditions that affect health. An estimated in 2022 used rental assistance programs to afford modest housing. That’s in a nation where 4 in 10 people with low incomes in the U.S. are unhoused or pay over half their income on rent. What’s more, the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½â€™s focus area of the Deep South is home to states with some of the greatest need for and due to persistently poor housing conditions.

Budgeting may not be the most exciting issue, but our nation’s budget speaks volumes about our core values. play a critical role in improving access to housing, health care, education and jobs; improving voting rights and access; increasing police accountability; reducing incarceration; and combating hate and extremism.

Your voice matters here. We must demand that the budget for a country as wealthy as ours reflects the values of the people and ensures that everyone’s basic needs are met.

Theresa Lau is the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ and ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ Action Fund senior policy counsel for eradicating poverty.

Illustration at top by the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½