Senate Legislation

Government Funding Extended into 2024

Congress averted another government shutdown last week, passing the “laddered” continuing resolution CR proposal through both chambers. The House passed the bill, which was introduced by Speaker Johnson (R-LA) last weekend, on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, with a bipartisan vote of 336-95 and meeting the two-thirds standard needed to pass bills under suspension of the

Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on Social Media and the Teen Mental Health Crisis

The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the law had a hearing on November 7th about social media and the teen mental health crisis. Chairman Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) opened the hearing by introducing the witness, former Director of Engineering for Protection and Care at Facebook turned Meta whistleblower, Aturo Béjar. Senator Blumenthal described Mr.

Another Shutdown Deadline Ahead

The continuing resolution (CR) currently funding the federal government expires this week, on November 17th, 2023. As of this writing, there has been no deal between the House, the Senate, and the White House to continue funding beyond that date, setting up a high-stakes week for Congressional leadership as they work to resolve their funding

Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Holds Two Foster Care Hearings

On October 30, 2023, the Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law held a field hearing in Georgia entitled, “Foster Children in the Courts.” This hearing was the second one to be held in response to reports in February that children in the care of Georgia’s Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) have

Chairwoman Murray Highlights Child Care Funding in Hearing

On November 8, 2023, Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Patty Murray highlighted the need for additional funding for child care during a hearing on the President’s supplemental funding requests for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In her opening

Congress Averts Shutdown

After several weeks without making significant progress on a deal to keep the government running, Congress passed a bipartisan continuing resolution (CR) on Saturday, September 30, 2023, just hours before the end of the fiscal year. For much of last week, the House and the Senate were on two different paths. House Republicans were unable

CWLA Endorsed: Housing ACCESS Act

This week, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced the Housing Alignment and Coordination of Critical and Effective Supportive Health Services (ACCESS) Act. The legislation would align housing and services for people experiencing chronic homelessness and unnecessary institutionalization. In sum, the bill aims to make Medicaid services work better with housing.

Shutdown Looms in Final Week of Fiscal Year

Congress has just five days to negotiate and pass a bill to continue to fund the government after the end of the fiscal year on September 30th, 2023. Last weekend, leadership of both the House Freedom Caucus and House Main Street Caucus released a stopgap proposal, or continuing resolution (CR) that would temporarily fund the

Senate HELP Moves Three Bills on Maternal and Pediatric Health

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) convened for votes on multiple bills relating to medical research, funding and programs. Three bills were passed together, the PREEMIE Reauthorization Act, the Preventing Maternal Deaths Reauthorization Act and the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0. These bills were voted out of committee by

Childcare Since the Pandemic: Macroeconomic Impacts

On September 20th, 2023, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee hosted a hearing entitled “Childcare Since the Pandemic: Macroeconomic Impacts of Public Policy Measures.” Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) lead the meeting, joined by Senator John Kennedy (R-LA). Senator Warren started with how broken the childcare system in the United States is following the

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