On Monday, April 26, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider Texas’ effort to reinstate a Trump-written rule on immigration and the definitions of public charge. Under longstanding immigration law, a public charge is any noncitizen who will likely become “primarily” reliant on certain government assistance programs, meaning that they provide more than half
On Wednesday, April 28, 2021, President Biden will address a joint session of Congress. He is expected to tie much of that address not only to his recent proposal on infrastructure but also on a second-piece family plan. While not a state of the union address, the opening speech by a new President has become
Following CWLA’s 2021 Virtual Conference will be Virtual Hill Day on Wednesday, May 12th, in which we are asking CWLA members and Conference registrants to go to Capitol Hill to virtual meet their members of Congress to educate them on key child welfare legislation. The 2021 CWLA Legislative Agenda, which lays out key priorities for
Pandemic-related expansions of some nutrition programs were extended through an announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. The announcement extended some child nutrition nationwide waivers and flexibilities for schools and child care through the next school year of 2021–2022. The continuation of the nutrition program waivers means that schools will be
On Thursday, April 22, 2021, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, re-introduced the Child Care for Working Families Act. The legislation, which CWLA has endorsed, would create a comprehensive child care
On Wednesday, April 21, 2021, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing entitled ‘In Their Own Words: Paid Leave, Child Care, And An Economy That Failed Women.’ The hearing showcased stories of struggles experienced by working moms before and during the pandemic. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) began
Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) is holding up Senate confirmation of President Biden’s nominee to head up the Centers on Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. Senator Cornyn’s action comes in response to the Administration’s withdrawal of a Texas Medicaid waiver that had been approved shortly before the expiration of the Trump Administration. Under the 50-50
Last year, CWLA joined hundreds of organizations to engage in the vitally important and difficult task of helping households who don't usually file a tax return get their stimulus checks. According to the U.S. Treasury, about 8 million eligible families have not received the first stimulus check. Today, those eligible people haven't gotten their
On Thursday, April 15, 2021, the House Subcommittee on Appropriations for the departments of Labor-HHS-Education heard testimony from the new HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. The testimony builds on the previous week's White House overview of the FY 2022 appropriations. The House focused several Thursday hearings on the FY 2022 appropriations meaning we are now in the full
On Tuesday, April 13, 2021, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing, the 2021 Filing Season and 21st Century IRS called IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to testify on the 2021 tax filing season. His comments included positive news on the Child Tax Credit. (CTC) Chairman Ron Wyden's (D-OR) opening statement emphasized that 2021 is not a typical
