In Case You Missed It...

| By CBPP

This week at CBPP, we focused on the federal budget, the economy, state budgets and taxes, health, and food assistance.

On the federal budget, Brendan Duke explained how skewed tax cuts in the harmful Republican megabill favor the wealthy at the cost of cutting essential support for people with low and moderate incomes.
On the economy, Gbenga Ajilore described the challenges faced by Black households and Black-owned small businesses in 2025, due in part to the disproportionate impact of tariffs and the weakening labor market. We also updated our backgrounder on the maximum number of weeks of unemployment insurance available in each state.
On state budget and taxes, Wesley Tharpe and Tyler Godding highlighted states that have raised revenue to bolster and protect public services, providing a promising roadmap for other states to follow.
On health, Jennifer Sullivan pointed out the mounting affordability challenges faced by people enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace plans. We also released a toolkit to advise state and county agencies and advocates on implementing telephonic signatures for Medicaid and SNAP to reduce administrative burden and improve access to essential benefits.
On food assistance, Peyton McConnell and Luis Nuñez updated their post examining the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) last annual report on food security to include analysis of new data. We also updated our shareable infographics detailing the long-term benefits of participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

The Center was active on social media this week. Here are some of our posts:

Katie Bergh posted a thread to X and Bluesky explaining how preliminary USDA data indicates a decline in SNAP participation, reflecting the disruption caused by the government shutdown.
Will Fischer posted a thread to X on the fiscal year 2026 funding package that includes resources to prevent or limit deep cuts to assistance that helps people afford housing.
On Instagram, we detailed five ways the Republican megabill harms communities and families with low incomes in order to fund tax cuts for the wealthy.

A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts recently. Here are some highlights:

Don’t miss any of our posts, papers, or charts — follow us on Bluesky, X, Facebook, Threads, and Instagram.

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