On July 13, 2023, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health held a markup of seventeen bills, including H.R. 4056, the Ensuring Medicaid Continuity for Children in Foster Care Act. This legislation would exempt Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs) from the institutions for mental disease (IMD) exclusion in Medicaid. If this bill were
On June 28th, 2023, the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin- Madison held a webinar, "Thirty Years of the FMLA: What’s Worked, What Hasn’t, and Recommendations for More Equitable Policies," to discuss the advantages and drawbacks of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and ways to improve equity and
Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees are moving forward in the Appropriations process, releasing text and holding mark-ups for several of the Appropriations bills over the past couple of weeks, including the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies bill, which is covered below. Leaders of both Committees have made a
Both the House and Senate have started the process of considering Appropriations Bills, including the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bill. This bill includes nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC). On June 14th, the full House
On June 21, 2023, the House Health Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee held a legislative hearing entitled “Responding to America’s Overdose Crisis: An Examination of Legislation to Build Upon the SUPPORT Act” to evaluate how the Substance Use–Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act has worked
Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced a Resolution to Fully Address Child Poverty on June 23, 2023. The Resolution, which has 19 Democratic co-sponsors calls on Congress to address child poverty, recognizing that the United States continues to have a significantly higher rate of child poverty compared to other wealthy nations because we fail to sufficiently
On June 20th, The Coalition for Health Funding and Trust for Americas Health released “Shortchanged: The Impact of Chronic Underinvestment in Public Health,” which discussed the public health gaps that result from persistent underfunding. The Congressional Briefing and National Webinar were given by a panel including Erin Will Morton, Executive Director of Coalition for Health
On June 14, 2023, the National Low Income Housing Coalition released Out of Reach 2023: The High Cost of Housing. Published annually, the report highlights the gulf between the wages people earn and the price of modest rental housing in every state, county, metropolitan area, and combined non-metropolitan area in the U.S. This year’s report
On June 20, 2023, Early Edge California and National Women’s Law Center hosted a webinar entitled “Strengthening our Nation’s Child Care Infrastructure through FFN Care” to discuss the importance of Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) care as an alternative to more formalized methods of child care. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) each
The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary hosted a hearing on June 14, 2023 titled “Ensuring the Safety and Well-Being of Unaccompanied Children.” The hearing examined the fates of migrant children who enter the United States. Prominent speakers included Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Majority Member Alex Padilla (D-CA), and
