News Releases
Public policy barriers prevent far too many Alabamians from getting ahead. Our duty is to speak out against those barriers and identify solutions to give everyone an opportunity to reach their full potential. Check out our news releases and press statements about our research, organizing and advocacy for policies to make life better for Alabamians who are struggling to make ends meet.
News Releases
Better policy choices on taxes, transit can improve Alabamians’ health
Deeper and smarter investments in education, housing, infrastructure and other vital services can eliminate barriers to good health for low-income residents and communities of color, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a nonpartisan policy research organization based in Washington, D.C. Alabama can take many important policy steps [...]
News Releases
Shutdown deal brings sigh of relief for struggling Alabamians
The White House on Friday announced a short-term agreement to end the 35-day partial shutdown of the federal government. Alabama Arise executive director Robyn Hyden issued the following statement in response: “The pain from this unnecessary shutdown has grown by the day. Fortunately, this deal will reopen the federal government without causing further damage to [...]
News Releases
Bipartisan Farm Bill brings good news for struggling Alabamians
The U.S. House on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018, passed a compromise Farm Bill that avoided threatened cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). All members of Alabama’s House delegation joined Alabama’s two U.S. senators in voting for the bill. Alabama Arise executive director Robyn Hyden issued the following statement in response: “The Farm Bill [...]
News Releases
Alabama should expand Medicaid to continue gains in children’s health coverage, new national report indicates
Alabama still has one of the lowest rates of uninsured children in the country, but its progress on that measure stalled in 2017, according to a report released Thursday by Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families (CCF). The state’s uninsured rate for children (3.1 percent) remained below the national average (5 percent) in 2017. [...]
News Releases
The less you make, the more you pay: Alabama’s taxes remain upside down
Low-income Alabamians pay twice as much in state and local taxes as a share of their income compared to the state’s wealthiest residents, according to a study released Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018, by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C. The study, Who Pays?, analyzes major state and [...]
News Releases
Alabama’s state higher ed funding cuts since 2008 are country’s third deepest
Alabama’s cuts to state higher education funding over the last decade are among the deepest in the country, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a nonpartisan research organization based in Washington, D.C. The funding decline persisted even as the state’s economy began to rebound from the Great Recession. [...]
News Releases
High uninsured rates plague Alabama’s rural areas, show need to expand Medicaid
Alabama’s small towns and rural areas have among the highest rates of uninsured low-income adult citizens in the country, and residents there are more likely to be uninsured than those in metro areas, according to a new report released Sept. 25, 2018, by Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families (CCF) and the University of North [...]
News Releases
Alabama’s persistently high rate of uninsured adults shows the need for Medicaid expansion
New U.S. Census data show that the share of uninsured Alabamians increased between 2016 and 2017 and remained higher than the national average. Alabama Arise policy director Jim Carnes issued the following statement in response on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018: “The White House’s efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act and Alabama’s refusal to expand [...]
News Releases
Medicaid expansion, end to grocery tax highlight Alabama Arise’s 2019 priorities
Medicaid expansion and legislation to end the state sales tax on groceries are among the top goals on Alabama Arise’s 2019 legislative agenda. More than 200 Arise members picked the organization’s issue priorities at its annual meeting Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018, in Montgomery. The seven issues chosen were: Tax reform, including untaxing groceries and closing [...]
News Releases
Alabama’s costly catch-22 Medicaid waiver plan would punish parents in poverty
Arise Citizens’ Policy Project policy director Jim Carnes issued the following statement Monday, July 2, 2018, in response to Alabama Medicaid’s submission of a “work requirement” proposal for federal approval: “Alabama Medicaid’s work requirement proposal would create a no-win situation for thousands of parents living in deep poverty. They’ll lose health coverage if they don’t get [...]
