The Kid Angle: “Poverty doesn’t just happen.”

“Poverty doesn’t just happen,” California Rep. Barbara Lee told policy experts and Hill staffers today, “it’s a policy choice.”

Lee joined today’s Capitol Hill release of toplines from Children’s Budget 2024, which show that U.S. investment in the nation’s children fell for the third year in a row, driven largely by cuts to food assistance and other life-sustaining programs.

Children account for roughly one-quarter of the U.S. population, yet lawmakers allocate less than 9% of the federal budget to programs that serve them, according to the new report from First Focus on Children. This continued, systematic disinvestment in the nation’s children has produced deep gashes in the social safety net that keeps children fed, housed and healthy.

Overall U.S. investment in children declined nearly 6% from Fiscal Year 2023, according to the report, with the bulk of cuts made in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Roughly 14 million children rely on SNAP for nutritional health and more than one-third of all SNAP recipients are children.

“This is the last domino to fall of all these great things we did during the pandemic,” said First Focus on Children Vice President of Budget Policy and Data Analytics Chris Becker, noting that the share of investment in children is down 25% from its high point of 12% in FY 2021. “We are prioritizing children less and less,” he added.

International spending on children makes up a dramatically smaller share of the federal budget, Children’s Budget 2024 finds, with total spending equaling approximately 1/100th of domestic spending on kids. Spending on international children’s programs accounts for a mere 0.09% of the total federal budget and only 10.16% of spending internationally in FY 2024.

“Every single indicator we look at is improved when there are investments in children,” said Danilea Ligiero, Chief Executive Officer of Together for Girls. “And our foreign assistance to the poorest countries around the world allows them to make those investments. And as a result, we are safer. And we are able to show the world what matters.”

For more analysis of U.S. investment in children, including charts and graphs, visit Children’s Budget 2024.

If you missed today’s event, good news! We’ve got another one for you next week: Join us Monday, Sept. 23 for a conversation with Dr. Emily Penner, Associate Professor at the University of California, Irvine, and Dr. Sophia Rodriguez, Associate Professor at NYU Steinhardt, who will present their findings on inclusivity in the classroom.

Dr. Penner has found that ethnic studies coursework helps reduce racial inequality and improve student outcomes. Dr. Rodriguez has uncovered classroom attitudes that discourage Hispanic immigrant youth and offers ways to create more positive environments. Together, their studies illustrate that a student’s sense of belonging deeply affects their academic success and outline ways that educators can improve the learning experience for all kids, and especially for immigrant youth and children of color.

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