On July 13, 2022, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) Representative Karen Bass (D-CA), and Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the bicameral Children’s Safe Welcome Act. This bill establishes new standards to ensure that the safety and well-being of migrant children in government custody are prioritized, embedding best practices into every stage of
On Thursday, July 14th, 2022, Senator Manchin (D-WV) said “unequivocally” during a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY) that he will only support reducing drug prices and a two-year extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies as components of the reconciliation package. Although he insisted later during an interview that he still wanted to
On June 22, 2022, HuffPost published an article detailing the need for attention to the child care crisis happening in our country. Detailing the history of the movement to federally fund child care as well as the opportunities and barriers that exist today, the article makes a compelling case for additional advocacy on this issue.
On Saturday, June 25th, 2022, President Biden signed the bipartisan gun safety package into law, the first major gun violence legislation passed in decades. The bill, titled the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, was released by Republican Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). Fifteen
By Christine James-Brown, CWLA President and CEO The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is pleased to support the recently released Murray-Kaine Revised Child Care and Preschool Reconciliation Proposal and strongly advocates for its inclusion in the forthcoming reconciliation package. Child care and early childhood education are critical to the future well-being of all children
On Wednesday, June 15th, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID), Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) released a discussion draft for youth mental health care policies. This discussion draft follows a Request for Information (RFI) in the fall of 2021 and four subsequent committee hearings. The
On Wednesday, June 15th, 2022, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), along with Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Steve Daines (R-MT) released the Family Security Act 2.0, an update to Senator Romney’s original Family Security Act in 2021, which would reinstate the monthly child tax credit payments for many families. While there are some significant improvements over
On Thursday, June 9th, 2022, Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) held a press conference with other Members of Congress, families, providers and advocates to discuss the urgent need and widespread support for investing in childcare and early childhood education, and their proposal to invest significant resources in early care and education within
Congress returned from the Memorial Day Recess last week, and discussions about a possible reconciliation package continued. Conversations are underway between Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to negotiate a budget reconciliation bill, which would require only a simple majority for passage, that would meet Manchin’s demands without losing support
In response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, a small bipartisan group of nine Senators, led by Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) met on Thursday, May 26, to discuss reaching a deal on gun control reforms. Senator Murphy has been leading the call for gun reform for the Democratic Party. Other senators