By mid-week House Republicans were throwing cold water on the idea that they would move the CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) before the fiscal year and the authorization ran out. The debate and chance to act on CHIP by October 1, were thrown off when the Senate engaged in another ACA-repeal effort. On Monday, September
The Senate is expected to vote on the Graham-Cassidy-Johnson-Heller Medicaid block grant/per capita cap this week, with shifting odds of passage. Over the weekend, more questions than answers were being raised about its prospects, especially after Senator John McCain (R-AZ) said on Friday that he could not vote for the bill yet due to the
On Friday, September 22, Congressperson Karen Bass (D-CA), along with Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), introduced resolutions designating September as National Kinship Care Month. CWLA has long supported efforts to more formally recognize the month as a month of tribute to kinship caregivers and families similar to November as National adoption
On Tuesday, September 19, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced the “Strong Families Act of 2017,” reauthorizing the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV). The legislation was also co-sponsored by Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Bob Casey (D-PA), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH). It
On Monday, September 18, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released their bill to extend CHIP for five years. The Keeping Kids’ Insurance Dependable and Secure (KIDS) Act (S. 1827), would over time reduce the enhanced match. In releasing the bill, Senator Hatch said, “Introducing this legislation is
Around the same time that the latest repeal of the ACA was gaining traction, Senate leaders lead by Budget Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-TN) indicated that Republican leadership had come to an agreement on a budget resolution for 2018. The budget resolution is significant in that it could clear the way for a fast track
On Wednesday morning and evening, the House Ways and Means Committee debated and passed a re-authorization of the home visiting program. The legislation, the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program, named the Increasing Opportunity and Success for Children and Parents through Evidence-Based Home Visiting Act (H.R. 2824) passed on a party-line vote. Despite
Last week offered a range of possible directions on health care in 2017: move toward a short-term fix of the ACA, repeal it and replace it with block grants or re-ignite the battles over universal care: HELP COMMITTEE ACTION The HELP Committee held two more hearings on Tuesday, September 12, and on Thursday, September 14.
On Wednesday, September 13, the President and Democratic leaders appeared to line up on a deal that would restore protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) children and youth. The initial description indicated the DACA protections would go hand and hand with greater security funding but no wall against Mexico funding. Within hours however
On Thursday, September 14, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) introduced the Child Care for Working Families Act. The new legistaion attempts to set down a strong marker for what is truly needed to make improvements in the nation’s child care and early childhood education systems across the fifty states. It would
