On Thursday, April 15, 2021, the House Subcommittee on Appropriations for the departments of Labor-HHS-Education heard testimony from the new HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. The testimony builds on the previous week's White House overview of the FY 2022 appropriations. The House focused several Thursday hearings on the FY 2022 appropriations meaning we are now in the full
On Tuesday, April 13, 2021, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing, the 2021 Filing Season and 21st Century IRS called IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to testify on the 2021 tax filing season. His comments included positive news on the Child Tax Credit. (CTC) Chairman Ron Wyden's (D-OR) opening statement emphasized that 2021 is not a typical
On Thursday, April 15, 2021, the Biden Administration announced the release of $39 billion in child care funding resulting from the March passage of the American Rescue Plan. The allocations for the states found here are divided between $14.9 billion in flexible funds and $23.9 billion in stabilization funding. They also announced that they would provide guidance to
In the last year, it has become impossible to shield ourselves from the role of law enforcement, mental health systems, and their relationships to racial justice. Historically, both systems have harmed communities of color and continue to do so today. Complicit in racism and discrimination, both law enforcement and mental health systems continually perpetuate "negatives
According to information released by HHS, many purchasers on the marketplaces will see their premiums decrease, on average, by $50 per person per month and $85 per policy per month. An average of four out of five consumers currently enrolled in a plan through HealthCare.gov will be able to find a plan for $10 or
This week, a bipartisan Dear Colleague letter was circulated in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Congressmen Frank Mrvan (D-IN), and Dusty Johnson (R-SD). As the Dear Colleague says: Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis led to an increase in the number of children in foster
April 1, 2021, started the implementation of new and additional tax credits for health insurance purchased through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The March American Rescue Plan provided significant increases in tax credit for people who purchase insurance through the federal or their state ACA exchanges. The beginning of these new credits was April 1.
There is little argument that millions of Americans are in need of assistance. However, once funds like pandemic-related stimulus payments are disbursed, how will those Americans receive their payments? The usual response is through direct deposit or a paper check, but 7.1 million American households operate outside of the banking system. This leaves millions of
Congress returns this week with a busy two months before the next holiday on Memorial Day. Since the spring break, the President has released his infrastructure bill’s outlines with expectations that a second part or piece of an infrastructure bill that addresses human services will be coming out soon. In addition to infrastructure, Congress will
On Thursday, April 8, 2021, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released monthly data on border crossing, which found that over 18,800 unaccompanied children crossed the border in March. That exceeds any other previous month, with May 2019 reaching the previous high of 11,000 children. Overall the CBP indicated that more than 172,000 persons attempted entry along