On February 14, 2023, the Senate held a full committee hearing in an attempt to discover how to protect our children online. Several witnesses who spoke about either lived experience, scientific research, or implementation practices, stressed the importance of addressing the danger of social media and its role in the mental health crisis. Led by
On February 7, 2023, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) held a rally to shed light on the child care crisis. Along with several other senators, representatives, and guest speakers, Murray highlighted the importance of rebuilding the infrastructure of our child care system, and the steps President Biden should take in order to mitigate and solve this
On February 1, 2023, Democratic lawmakers marked the 30th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) with a press conference announcing a new legislative package to establish a paid family and medical leave program and to expand and modernize FMLA. The FMLA program has successfully allowed employees to take reasonable time off to
The Century Foundation released a commentary on ONDCP’s report about maternal health and substance use disorder on January 13th, 2023, noting that “the increasing criminalization of substance use in pregnancy disproportionately affects Black pregnant and postpartum people,” and makes recommendations for Congress to act. From the commentary: “Due to systemic racism and inequality, Black birthing
On January 18th, 2023, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a statement to recognized the expansion of access to Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD). The 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, signed into law by President Biden on December 29, 2022, expands access to medication for opioid use disorder. The legislation removes
This past Congress has certainly had its challenges. Throughout the last Congress, CWLA has joined with national stakeholders and coalitions to increase funding levels across 44 separate funding programs – many of which received an increase in the spending omnibus, and some remained at level funding. While a notable disappointment was the failure to reauthorize
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
The Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act on Tuesday, November 29th, 2022, in a bipartisan 61-36 vote. The bill, originally passed in the House, will codify federal recognition of same-sex marriage. It received bipartisan support because of added measures on religious liberty protections. House leadership has scheduled a vote on the amended bill next
The Continuing Resolution (CR) that Congress passed in September to avoid a government shutdown is set to expire next Friday, December 16th, 2022, unless lawmakers can pull together a budget or pass another CR. Reports from the Hill indicate that the Four Corners (the four leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees) have continued
On November 17th, 2022, Representative Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) introduced a Resolution on "Recognizing the harm associated with restraints in schools," which was referred to both the Education and Labor and Judiciary Committees. Restraint and seclusion, which are legal in most districts nationwide, are commonly used when students – particularly those with disabilities – are in
