Budget

TANF Assistance and Child Welfare Involvement

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) released a policy brief on May 12, 2023, exploring the connection between the TANF proposals in the debt ceiling negotiations and child welfare involvement. The paper cites research from Chapin Hall, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and others that illustrate that "policies that take cash assistance

The Cost of Cutting Cash Assistance

The Center on Policy and Social Policy at Columbia University released a new policy brief on May 16th, 2023, titled “The Costs of Cutting Cash Assistance to Children and Families: Changing TANF work requirements could cost society up to $30 billion per year.” This brief, a response to the House-passed debt ceiling bill, is timely

House Begins Appropriations Markups

On Wednesday May 17, 2023, the House Appropriations began marking up some of the appropriations bills for FY2024. Although the House Majority has not released a budget resolution, the House-passed Limit, Save Grow Act on the debt ceiling has proposed overall discretionary spending be capped at FY2022 levels; it is widely accepted that Defense spending

Department of Education Hearing

In the House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing titled "Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Education," on May 16, 2023, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona defended the proposed education budget of the Biden administration. The proposed budget includes an increase of $10.8 billion from fiscal 2023, with increased funding for programs

FAMILY Act for Paid Leave Reintroduced

On May 17, 2023, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) reintroduced the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which would create a permanent, national paid family and medical leave program. The bill would ensure that every worker, no matter the size of their employer or if they are self-employed or part-time,

Debt Limit Updates

Each week we draw closer to reaching the debt limit, which Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen has estimated will happen on or about June 1, 2023, just a few weeks from now. On May 9th, President Biden met with Congressional leadership in both the House and the Senate to begin discussing a path forward,

Debt Limit Debate Continues

Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen announced on May 1 that the nation could hit its existing debt ceiling as soon as June 1, 2023, mere weeks away and sooner than had previously been expected. The Treasury is currently using "extraordinary measures" to continue paying the country's debt. Following this announcement, President Biden invited Congressional

Welfare Programs Reduce Disparities in Child Brain Development: Study

A new study from researchers at Harvard and Washington University in St. Louis and supported by the National Institutes of Health (NI), suggest that well-funded anti-poverty measures can improve both brain development and mental health in children. Past research has shown that childhood poverty has a negative long-term impact along various outcome measures, like lower

House Passes Debt Ceiling Bill

On Wednesday, April 26th, 2023, House Republicans passed their budget and debt limit bill along party lines. As noted last week, the legislation would raise the debt ceiling into next year in exchange for freezing spending at last year’s levels for a decade — a nearly 14 percent cut — as well as rolling back

Speaker McCarthy Unveils Budget and Debt Ceiling Bill

On Wednesday, April 19th, 2023, House Republicans unveiled legislation that would pair lifting the debt ceiling with steep budget cuts and budget caps for the next ten years. Speaker McCarthy is expected to call a vote on the measure this week, although it’s not certain that he currently has enough votes to pass it through

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