Senate Legislation

Congress and White House Address Formula Shortage

This week, Congress and the White House took steps to address the nationwide baby formula shortage, seeking to ease the burden especially for families with low incomes and those who need hypoallergenic formula for babies with milk allergies. On Wednesday, May 18th, the House passed the Access to Baby Formula Act, a bill led by

New Child Care Proposal on the Table

On Monday, May 16th, 2022, Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) officially announced their revamped child care and early learning reconciliation proposal. As we wrote last week, this proposal is roughly half the size of the original child care proposal in Build Back Better and largely focuses on expanding funding through the Child

Senate Democrats Revamp Child Care Proposal

Last weekend, on Sunday, May 9th, 2022, Politico reported that Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) is in the process of pitching a new child care proposal to the rest of the Democratic party, taking a bold step to keep child care in the conversation about a potential reconciliation

Legislative Briefing on Higher Education for Youth in Foster Care Bills

On May 11th, 2022, a briefing titled “Supporting Higher Education Success for Youth With Experience in Foster Care and Homelessness: A Briefing on Four Legislative Proposals that Can Make A Difference,” was hosted by Schoolhouse Connection, John Burton Advocates for Youth and the Youth Law Center, in collaboration with the offices of Representative Danny Davis

NAMD Releases Policy Brief on IMD Exclusion

In an issue brief dated April 18, 2022, the National Association of Medicaid Directors has highlighted that The IMD exclusion can make it challenging for state Medicaid programs to meet the behavioral health needs of their members. Specifically, there are challenges accessing inpatient services and contradictions with other policy goals. NAMD suggests three opportunities for

Appropriations Process Begins to Tentatively Move Forward

According to Politico, the four top Democratic and Republican appropriators met on Thursday, April 28th, 2022, to begin negotiations on a budget for fiscal year 2023. The stated goal is to have the top-line defense and non-defense numbers locked in before summer, the first step in setting the budget. The House Appropriations Committee has ambitions

Senate Banking Subcommittee Holds Child Care Hearing

On Tuesday, April 26, 2022, the Economic Policy Subcommittee of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing, “Child Care and Other Policy Tools to Combat Bottlenecks and Inflation.” Chair Senator Warren (D-MA) started the hearing with an overview of the problem – inflation is on the rise due, in part, to

Senate Finance Committee Hears from Witnesses on Mental Health Parity

On Wednesday, March 30th, 2022 the Senate Finance Committee continued their series on mental health with a hearing entitled ‘Behavioral Health Care When Americans Need It: Ensuring Parity and Care Integration.’ Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) emphasized the need to hold insurance companies accountable for not adhering to parity laws. Wyden referenced a recent GAO report,

Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Cutting Child Care Costs

On Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022 the Senate HELP Committee held a hearing entitled ‘Child Care and Preschool: Cutting Costs for Working Families.’ The hearing centered around how to provide affordable childcare to families. Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) and Democrats advocated for the proposal included in President Biden’s Build Back Better package, which would expand the

Senate HELP Hosts Second Hearing on Behavioral Health

On Wednesday March 23rd, 2022, Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) led the Senate HELP Committee’s hearing: “Strengthening Federal Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Programs: Opportunities, Challenges, and Emerging Issues.” The Committee members and witnesses discussed issues necessitating bipartisan legislation addressing the increasing severity of the mental health and substance use disorders prevailing across the country.

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