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
On February 8th, 2023, The House Committee on Education and the Workforce held its first hearing of the year, titled “American Education in Crisis.” The hearing called attention to the challenges the education system still faces after recovering from the pandemic. Witnesses were Virgnia Gentles of the Education Freedom Center at the Independent Women’s Forum,
On January 26th, 2023, Congressman Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) and his colleagues Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Joaquin Castro, Andy Kim, Jamaal Bowman, Rob Menendez, Dan Goldman, Joe Neguse, launched the Congressional Dads Caucus to bring attention to and build support for policies that benefit working families. According to the National Women’s Law Center’s (NWLC) press release, “the
After 15 rounds of voting, Kevin McCarthy has secured enough votes to become the 53rd Speaker of the House of Representatives. Since 2006, Speaker McCarthy has served California’s 23rd district in Congress. After he was elected to Congress, Speaker McCarthy became Chief Deputy Whip and later served as Majority Whip. In 2014, he was elected
On January 6th, 2023, the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth (CCFY) announced that it will be co-chaired by Congressmembers Gwen Moore (D-WI), Don Bacon (R-NE), Sydney Kamlager (D-CA), and Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA). CCFY is one of the largest bipartisan caucuses in the House of Representatives and the new leaders are committed to improving the
On December 14th, 2022, with only a handful of days left in the 117th Congress, Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC) introduced the Parental Right to Protect Act, which would introduce gender-affirming care issues into the Child Abuse Protection and Treatment Act (CAPTA). The bill seeks to make states ineligible for CAPTA funding if they allow Child
On Wednesday, December 13th, 2022, Representatives Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) and Danny Davis (D-IL), Chair of the Worker and Family Support Subcommittee on Ways and Means, introduced the Fostering Secure Family Partnerships Act, a bill to increase federal funding for state Kinship Navigator Programs — which provide caregivers with information, education, and referrals to a wide
The Continuing Resolution (CR) that Congress passed in September to avoid a government shutdown is set to expire this Friday, December 16th, 2022, and no Appropriations deal has been reached at this time. This week will be critical in determining if the twelve Appropriations bills will get done, or if another CR will be necessary.
The House of Representatives passed the amended Respect for Marriage Act on Thursday, December 8th, 2022, in a 258-169-1 vote. Thirty-nine Republicans joined all Democrats in supporting the measure, which had previously been passed in the House in July of this year. The bill now awaits President Biden’s signature, which is likely to happen in
The House of Representatives passed the Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act of 2022 on December 2, 2022, in a 390-26 vote. The bill, named for the late Representative from Indiana, would reauthorize the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program, which was due to expire in September of this
