The Administration announced it will delay the release of next year’s budget to February 12. That is FY 2019, not FY 2018 which still has not been finalized. As a result the 2019 proposal will base spending levels on an estimate of what Congress will finally do in FY 2018. In all likelihood there will
On Thursday the Trump Administration released an overall proposal on DACA and immigration as their bottom line. In some respects it opened up the possibility of expanded protection for children and young adults now protected or potentially protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals but it may come with a hefty-unpaid for wall funding
By a vote of 55 to 43 the Senate gave the final ok to the appointment Alex Azar to be the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Azar becomes the second HHS Secretary for the Trump Administration. He fills a vacancy in the Secretary position created when Secretary Tom Price stepped
Last Tuesday, in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen flatly refused to rule out a policy of parent-child separation in order to deter migration to the United States. CWLA joined more than 130 organizations asking Secretary Nielsen to abandon any plans to separate children from their parents when
Last week CWLA signed onto a letter led by Families USA calling on Congress to protect access to affordable, high-quality and comprehensive health insurance. The letter tells congressional leaders: “Medicaid, Medicare, and private health insurance, including insurance provided through the health insurance marketplaces, support the health, well-being, and financial security of millions of families across
On Friday, January 19, Eric Hargan, the Acting Secretary for Health and Human Services announced the extension of “public health emergency” due to opioid addiction. It is not clear what impact the declaration, and the President’s earlier declaration has had. It allows some flexibility in the allocation of some funds in some programs, but it
No official announcement has been made but much of Washington is expecting that the Administration will release their proposed FY 2019 budget in the first week of February. That is required by law. But that budget will base program cuts and increases on what FY 2018 spending was set at, which has not yet been
On Thursday, January 18, the Administration announced the creation of the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division within the HHS Office of Civil Rights. The Administration described the responsibilities of the division as promoting and protecting religious freedom in HHS programs. The Office of Civil Rights Director Roger Severino said, “Laws protecting religious freedom and conscience
On Wednesday, January 17 the Senate Finance Committee approved the nomination of Alex Azar to be the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) was the only committee member to cross party lines on the final 15 to 12 vote. Carper’s vote does not necessarily indicate he will
Today (Tuesday, January 16) marks the 108th day of the FY 2018 fiscal year without a budget and it looks that that number will continue to increase by this time next week. Even if there is a deal this week it will require a fourth CR to allocate whatever funds that are agreed upon. That