Whether our work is unpaid or underpaid, we work hard to meet our needs and pursue our goals. We all deserve to get the help we need, no matter what.

As emergency allocations for SNAP and other programs are coming to an end this spring, Washington's low-income residents are already facing a more difficult financial landscape. Many who have been able to feed their families and afford basic needs will once again need to go to food banks or struggle to pay their rent.

While the Senate budget makes cuts to TANF and fails to fund policies that would make TANF a more effective stepping stone out of poverty, the House budget makes important steps to help low-income Washingtonians meet their basic needs and build a path to financial stability.

Urge your Senator to follow the House budget’s lead and help low-income Washingtonians stay afloat in this increasingly uncertain economic time!

Wednesday, April 12 was the last day for bills to pass out of the opposite chamber from the one they started in, meaning that bills are either dead for session or on their way to the Governor's desk.

Let's take a moment to celebrate the bills that passed, including:

• ESHB 1678, which authorizes dental therapy at federally qualified health centers statewide
• 2SHB 1447, which makes important improvements to make TANF a more effective pathway out of poverty
• ESHB 1260, which ends the unfair requirement for adults with disabilities to repay their ABD benefits to the state when they transfer onto SSI 

And to mourn the bills that died, including:

• HB 1045, which would have created a statewide Guaranteed Basic Income pilot program
• HB 1075, which would have expanded the eligibility for the Working Families Tax Credit to all adults 18 and older
• ESHB 1562, which would have ensured that children on TANF receive 100% of their child support

We are so excited about the bills that passed this year! For the bills that didn't pass, we will work to fund parts of them in the budget or work on them again in 2024!

Thank you so much for your work to help pass these important pieces of legislation throughout this session.

Statewide Poverty Action Network
1501 N 45th Street
Seattle, WA 98103
United States

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