Three Things the Legislature Can Do for a More Equitable Recovery

According to the most recent census data, nearly 1 in 6 Washington adults with children are reporting that they cannot afford enough food so that even their children do not have enough to eat. Now that we are officially half done with this year’s legislative session, we want to make sure that lawmakers do three crucial things to support struggling families in gaining economic stability. Building a more equitable recovery, one that targets investments to help those who were furthest from opportunity even before the pandemic, will put Washington on a better path towards a healthier, stronger economy for all.

1. Pass bills and budget investments that provide critically needed food and housing assistance.

Washington has the opportunity to eliminate the school lunch co-pay so that all low-income students can eat nutritious lunches at school and focus on learning. Now that the House has passed HB 1342 with a strong bipartisan vote of 95-1, we will now work to move this bill through the Senate.

Families also need housing stability, which is why we support investments to provide rental assistance. We must also pass SHB 1236 to protect tenants’ housing once the eviction moratorium is lifted, so that families who are current on rent or haven’t broken any rules cannot be turned out of their homes for arbitrary, discriminatory, and non-business reasons.

2. Provide cash assistance, giving struggling families and individuals the flexibility they need to pay bills and afford essential necessities.

HB 1151 expands the Disaster Cash Assistance Program reaching low-income people who are otherwise not eligible for other cash assistance and creates a smoother off ramp from SNAP for families as they gain economic stability. This billl passed out of the House last week, 82-16. We continue to support providing Recovery Rebates through the Working Families Tax Credit, HB 1297, and need to see a vote in the House before next Tuesday’s bill cutoff. We also can and must do more to help families on TANF-families living in deepest poverty who are struggling to maintain work and workforce training in the current economy and still need to pay the rent and put food on the table.

3. Balance our tax code so we can afford these critical investments and build a better economy.

We want Washington to come back from our current economic crisis even healthier than before, and that means Washington must include new and sustainable revenue that begins the work of cleaning up our upsidedown tax code. Even before the pandemic, 1 in 6 people relied on their local food bank-a level of need that never came back down to pre-recession era levels. This is in large part due to the fact that in the last recession, Washington cut more than $12 billion from our state budget including safety net services that help keep people housed, fed, and paying down bills and debts. We can’t afford to make that mistake again. Modest proposals like SB 5096 which poses a tax on extraordinary profits from stocks sales would only be paid by those making a minimum $660,000 per year and could yield more than $500 million per year for child care, housing, food, and other essential needs.

What You Can Do