Last week both the House and Senate passed their budget resolutions setting up a negotiation over the spring break. On Wednesday, March 25 the House of Representatives gave final approval to their version of a budget resolution (H. Con Res 27). The resolution passed with Republican votes only. It passed by a vote of 228
A letter in support of the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) is open for additional signatures. The original letter in support of SSBG was sent to Capitol Hill on March 12, with over 65 national organizations signing on to a letter that asked Congress to protect the human services funding from further budget cutting. The
On Thursday, March 26 the House of Representatives took up the SRG “doc fix” bill and passed it in overwhelming bipartisan fashion by a vote of 392 to 37. The legislation (HR 2), if enacted, will not only permanently replace what has become an almost annual ritual of supplanting the current provider payments through Medicare
The House of Representatives started the process last Tuesday when the Budget Committee unveiled its resolution. It includes more than $5.5 trillion in cuts over 10 years. It would do this by converting Medicaid into a block grant to states and reducing projected funding by $913 billion over that ten year period. It would repeal
Late last week congressional leaders from both parties announced what appear to be an agreement to eliminate the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SRG) formula, what is commonly referred to as the “Medicare Doc Fix.” It is expected that the legislation would also include an extension of some health related provisions included last year’s bill including
On Friday, March 12, a number of groups spearheaded by the Child Welfare League of America, Generations United, the National Association of County Human Service Directors, Zero to Three, Easter Seals and the National Adult Protective Services Association, sent a letter to all members of Congress in support of the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG).
The two budget committees are expected to act on a budget resolution this week. The House Budget Committee will meet on Wednesday and likely act all in one day. The Senate Budget Committee will meet on Wednesday and Thursday. A budget resolution is supposed to be jointly approved by the House and Senate to have
On Tuesday, the House, absent much debate, passed an appropriations bill that will fund the Department of Homeland Security through the rest of the fiscal year. The action to adopt a “clean” bill—without any restrictions on the President’s executive order regarding immigration—was adopted 257 to 167 with Democrats providing the bulk of the vote (182
The Senate HELP Committee continues its discussions of a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Reports are that HELP Committee Chair Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) would like a vote by April but the Senate will be out of session from March 28 through April 12 so in a best case scenario they
After a back in forth in strategy that saw the House reject a “clean Homeland Security funding bill” that would have provided funding through the end of the fiscal year without conditions regarding immigration, the Congress instead extended funding through this week. It is unclear what will happen next but there is a potential deal
