Federal Funds Tracker

• The 2011 Budget Control Act and Sequestration: The BCA set caps on defense and nondefense discretionary funding through 2021 and further reduced funding over time through across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration on programs such as Head Start, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, Children (WIC), Social Services Grants, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).  Starting in 2013, these caps were lowered when Congress failed to pass deficit reduction legislation as laid out in the BCA. While a series of short-term budget deals reduced the amount by which the caps were lowered, since 2010 non-defense discretionary programs overall have seen significant reductions.

• The 2018 Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA): The BBA increased the BCA caps on non-defense discretionary spending by $63 billion in FY 2018 and $68 billion in FY 2019. It also extended direct spending on several health programs, provides a few narrow tax breaks, and raises the cap on non-defense appropriations. As a result, significant investments were made in the 2018 omnibus spending bill (a bill spanning multiple budget areas, not used in current budget documents), such as Housing for Urban Development (HUD) and the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). While the budget agreement began to reverse some of the BCA cuts, many areas remain funded below 2010 levels adjusted for inflation, and spending outside of Social Security and Medicare remain below a 40-year historical average and is projected to decline further

• The 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA): Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2018. The TCJA has widely regarded as a $2 trillion giveaway to wealthy households and profitable corporations. (DEREK WILL UPDATE DATA). Unless overhauled, the TCJA will widen income inequality and strain spending for decades to come.

• Covid-19 Pandemic: The economic climate has changed significantly because of Covid-19 and the level of human services funding will need to be considerably increased to meet growing needs for housing, food assistance, child care, support for older adults, and other poverty fighting programs. The unprecedented economic hardship faced by a growing number of New Yorkers highlights both the fragility of the economic gains of recent years and the need for immediate policy interventions to support those who are increasingly struggling to make ends meet. See our Covid-19 Resource page for analysis, advocacy, and more and our Tableau dashboard to monitor economic hardship in New York City since the pandemic began.

We are in a pivotal moment; policymakers must reject yesterday’s austerity politics and honor the millions who made tremendous sacrifices by meaningfully investing in our nation, including the lives of the more than two-hundred thousand who died, many unnecessarily.

The caring economy kept the nation’s economic lights on by making sacrifices to protect and provide for each other, even under the constraints of insufficient federal support. Human services workers helped keep food on the table and roofs over heads; shopkeepers and workers at bodegas, bars, and restaurants opened their doors to keep their communities and livelihoods intact; medical staff tirelessly cared for the sick and dying; and parents struggled to keep their families safe and nurture their children’s growth and education in isolation while managing their own jobs. Policymakers owe it to all of us to avoid the mistakes of the past and pass both a comprehensive and well-targeted coronavirus relief package and federal budgets that reflect the real needs of their constituents.

It is imperative that during the FFY 2021 budget negotiations, Congress spend boldly without the recent pasts’ constraints of deficit concerns to ensure these critical human services programs are fully restored and strengthened to reflect the needs that existed prior to, and certainly after, the current crisis.