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
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
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
The Institute for Research on Policy hosted a webinar on April 5, 2023 titled “Expanded SNAP Benefits During The COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned.” Speakers for the event included Dr. Cindy Leung, Professor of Public Health at Harvard University; Chloe Green, Senior Policy Associate with the American Public Health Services Association (APHSA); and Dr. Marianne Bitler,
The Catalyst Center at Boston University hosted a webinar on Tuesday, April 4th 2023, titled The Impact of the Expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) on Families Raising Children with Disabilities. The webinar highlighted the findings from a recent research project in collaboration with the Catalyst Center, the Social Policy Institute at Washington University of St.
On March 29, 2023 the Congressional Dad’s Caucus had its kickoff meeting with a panel of lived experience. Representative Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), the Chair and Founder of the Dad’s Caucus, opened the discussion by highlighting the importance of “family friendly” policy. Several other congressmen offered their support, including Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), founder of the
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is under consideration in both the Appropriations debate as well as the looming Farm Bill reauthorization due this year. These debates are happening as a “hunger cliff” is affecting SNAP, as benefits are being rolled back resulting in reductions of $82 per month on average, a significant sum for
On March 28, 2023, a STAT News article highlighted the negative health impacts that ending SNAP allotments would have on children. In March 2020, Congress passed legislation enabling states to provide Emergency Allotments, assisting millions of families in feeding their children. However, the allotments ended on March 1, 2023, sharply cutting a lifeline for 16
On Tuesday, March 28, Secretary Xavier Becerra of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education about the fiscal year 2024 budget. Chairman Aderholt (R-AL) opened the hearing with the goal of identifying the programs most critical to our population, creating
On Wednesday, March 28th, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on President Biden’s FY24 Budget proposal with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. Although Chairman Jason Smith [R-MO] and Ranking Member Richard Neal [D-MA] raised diverging criticisms, there was bipartisan agreement on preventing “surprise billing,” providing Alzheimer treatments, and holding corporations accountable for migrant
