On Tuesday, July 21, the Senate Finance Committee extended a range of tax breaks. The so-called extenders are called that because they expire every few years. Some such as the Research and Development Tax Credit for businesses have been temporarily extended by Congress since the late 1990s. Others are more recent but all have in
Last week appropriations stalled out, reconciliation remained suspended and the transportation reauthorization moved toward an uncertain possible short term extension. The House has passed all 12 appropriations out of the Appropriation Committee but they suspended action over controversy in the Interior Department bill and amendments that would restrict the placement of the confederate flag on
The growing demand to make significant reforms and changes to federal criminal justice laws gathered a powerful head of steam last week after a major effort by President Obama and a number of bipartisan congressional comments. There is a growing consensus starting with the President and including Republicans, Democrats, liberals and conservatives to address the
On Thursday, July 16, the Senate approved a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secretary Education Act, S 1177 (ESEA/No Child Left behind Act) by a vote of 81 to 17 sending it on to the next phase of the process and maybe the most difficult phase. The House passed their education bill, HR 5, and
On Wednesday, July 15 the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources held a hearing on a reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. One of the most significant factors that was clear at the hearing was the bipartisan tone of the discussion. Both sides expressed a willingness to work
Last week Congress returned for the remainder of their summer session with votes and debates on education and uncertainty on other key issues including the budget. The Senate began what is expected to be a two week debate on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the House voted on their bill
While much of children’s and child welfare programs were level in funding there were some key targets and cuts. This included the Senate elimination of the Abandoned Infants funding (zeroed out all $11 million) and both the House and Senate made severe cuts to teen pregnancy prevention. See budget chart here. The Administration in their
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has found the state of West Virginia in violation of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it comes to providing services to children with significant mental health conditions. The Justice Department holds that the state has a very high rate of placements into segregated
The debate on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secretary Education Act, S 1177 (ESEA/No Child Left behind Act) began last Tuesday. At the same time the House leadership narrowly passed their education bill, HR 5, and approved it by a narrow Republican majority of 218 to 213. The final vote came after House leadership
On Wednesday the House Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee will hold a hearing on reauthorization of TANF in what could be a serious effort to reauthorize the block grant. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program was last reauthorized for a full five years in 2006 with a series of yearly and monthly
