The blog of the Urban Institute
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A proposal in the new Farm Bill limiting the USDA’s ability to update SNAP benefits would be a dangerous prospect for the 42 million families across the country who rely on the benefit to purchase food.
Many Families Are Taking on Debt to Pay for Groceries The upcoming reauthorization of the Farm Bill comes at a time when many families are turning to credit card debt, payday loans, savings, and Buy Now, Pay Later options to put food on their tables.Apprenticeships Can Help Train Appraisers to Reduce Racial Bias in Home Valuations With the aging appraiser workforce unrepresentative of American homeowners, registered apprenticeships offer a solution to address long-standing racial discrimination in the industry.The Homebuying Process Is Complicated Enough. Language Barriers Pose Additional Challenges Tens of millions of Americans have limited English proficiency. Improving language access in the mortgage market could help more households access homeownership and help lenders tap new markets.Freddie Mac’s Second Mortgage Proposal Is Consumer Friendly Urban Institute experts offer evidence about the proposal’s potential benefits for borrowers, respond to arguments against the proposal, and suggest additional disclosure to increase the product’s transparency and usefulness to the public.With Food Insecurity on the Rise, Proposed Farm Bill Spending Cuts to SNAP Are Dangerous A proposal in the new Farm Bill limiting the USDA’s ability to update SNAP benefits would be a dangerous prospect for the 42 million families across the country who rely on the benefit to purchase food.Local Governments with More Staff and Bigger Budgets Are More Likely to Win Federal Infrastructure Grants To avoid reinforcing historic inequities in infrastructure, federal agencies, in partnership with local governments and nonprofits, should equip communities with less capacity with the supports they need to apply for and win competitive federal grants.