Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) announced on Tuesday a bipartisan, bicameral tax proposal that includes improvements to the Child Tax Credit (CTC). CWLA is pleased that lawmakers have prioritized the reduction of child poverty in this tax proposal. Although the proposal is not as comprehensive as
Congress has returned to Capitol Hill and has a long list of priorities to address, including two impending government funding deadlines on January 19 and February 2, 2024. There has been good news on the budget front: it was announced on January 7 that House and Senate Leadership had reached an agreement on topline numbers
On December 6, 2023, Representative Kevin Mullin (D-CA) introduced the Poverty Line Act, which would update the way the Federal government calculates the federal poverty line by accounting for real costs and adjusting for regional differences. This would make millions more families eligible for safety net programs such as Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps), LIHEAP (energy
On December 6, 2023, the House Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee held a hearing to “Expand Growth and Increase Prosperity for American Families”. Chairman Mike Kelly [R-PA] opened the conversation by talking about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, many of the codes of which are set to expire in 2025, and how he would
On December 5, 2023, Spotlight on Poverty & Opportunity hosted a briefing, “Family Economic Mobility: Finding Bipartisan Pathways to Support Pro-Family Policies,” on Capitol Hill that featured Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA). They highlighted the Connected MOM Act, which would allow expectant mothers to receive medical monitoring remotely during their pregnancies, and
On Wednesday, November 29th, the Institute for Research on Poverty hosted a webinar entitled “Supporting Engaged Fatherhood and Family Wellbeing: The Role of Policy from the Community Level to the Federal Level.” They brought together four presenters to talk about the role of fathers in the family unit and some of the barriers those fathers
The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) hosted a webinar on November 16, 2023, entitled "Fighting Hunger with Housing: Actions and Updates for Advocates." They explored the connection between a lack of housing security and food stability, and the adverse health impacts resulting from the inability to afford and access reliable food sources. Hunger and
Children’s Funding Project held a webinar entitled, “National Funding for Children and Youth” to launch their report on their pilot State Child and Youth Fiscal Map Cohort platform. The map includes data for Alaska, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and New York on where their
The continuing resolution (CR) currently funding the federal government expires this week, on November 17th, 2023. As of this writing, there has been no deal between the House, the Senate, and the White House to continue funding beyond that date, setting up a high-stakes week for Congressional leadership as they work to resolve their funding
On November 8, 2023, Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Patty Murray highlighted the need for additional funding for child care during a hearing on the President’s supplemental funding requests for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In her opening
