The House Committee on Homeland Security held its first hearing of the 118th Congress on February 28, 2023, titled, “Every State is a Border State: Examining Secretary Mayorkas’ Border Crisis.” Under the leadership of Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) and Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-MS), this hearing discussed contemporary immigration policies at the U.S. Southern Border
The Senate HELP Committee hosted its first hearing of the 118th Congress on February 16th, 2023, titled, “Examining Health Care Workforce Shortages: Where Do We Go From Here?” Under the leadership of Chairman Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-LA), this hearing discussed navigating the healthcare workforce crisis with leaders from universities and
During the State of the Union Address, President Biden took the opportunity to address the debt ceiling negotiations, noting that there had been proposals to make cuts to Medicare and Social Security spending. Republicans vehemently and loudly denied such plans, and in one of the few bipartisan moments of the night, both parties seemed to
On February 1, 2023, Democratic lawmakers marked the 30th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) with a press conference announcing a new legislative package to establish a paid family and medical leave program and to expand and modernize FMLA. The FMLA program has successfully allowed employees to take reasonable time off to
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) recently released a report, “Substance Use Disorder in Pregnancy: Improving Outcomes for Families,” which details the Administration’s plan to improve access to effective treatment for people who are pregnant and have substance use disorders, support families and prevent unnecessary foster care placements, and make better use of
The Century Foundation released a commentary on ONDCP’s report about maternal health and substance use disorder on January 13th, 2023, noting that “the increasing criminalization of substance use in pregnancy disproportionately affects Black pregnant and postpartum people,” and makes recommendations for Congress to act. From the commentary: “Due to systemic racism and inequality, Black birthing
A new study in NEJM concludes that trans and nonbinary teenagers who receive gender-affirming hormones experience less depression and anxiety and more satisfaction with life than before the treatment. This new study adds to a substantial body of research that shows gender-affirming care improves mental health and comes at a time when this care is
The Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (or SUPPORT Act), passed in 2018, included a provision titled “Coverage Continuity for Former Foster Care Children Up to Age 26,” on page 10, which took effect on January 1st, 2023. This important provision requires states to cover youth under
This past Congress has certainly had its challenges. Throughout the last Congress, CWLA has joined with national stakeholders and coalitions to increase funding levels across 44 separate funding programs – many of which received an increase in the spending omnibus, and some remained at level funding. While a notable disappointment was the failure to reauthorize
On December 15th, the Trevor Project released the 2022 U.S. National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health. For the first time, the report presents findings on the experiences of nearly 34,000 LGBTQ people ages 13-24 in the U.S., segmented by all 50 states. From the summary: “These data provide critical insights into the suicide risk