On Tuesday, October 3, the Senate Judiciary Committee held its first hearing since the President’s controversial executive order reversing President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood arrivals, or DACA. That order was quickly followed by a controversial informal announcement of a deal with Democratic leaders. The hearing, Oversight of the Administration’s Decision to End Deferred Action
The Administration is seeking $29 billion in emergency/disaster relief funds. Of the total $16 billion will replenish the disaster insurance fund. The rest is mainly for Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico, with approximately a half billion to address wildfires in the west. House Republican conservatives are demanding offsets, but that is unlikely to gather total conservative
Last week Congressional Republicans released an outline of their tax reform proposal for 2017. They hope to move the package on a fast track both in process and time. The process part is that they will try and use a new 2018 budget resolution and reconciliation tool to fast track the legislation through the Senate
On Friday evening September 29, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price stepped down unexpectedly during the controversy over his private chartered flights. The resignation marks the first cabinet secretary to leave the Trump Administration less than eight months after he was confirmed by the Senate. Deputy Assistant Health Secretary Don Wright was appointed
What is next for ACA repeal may be clearer later this week when and if Congressional leaders decide whether to include in the 2018 budget resolution an instruction to repeal the ACA. Such a provision would muddy the fast track for tax cuts but would keep alive another shot at the Graham-Cassidy-Johnson-Heller block grant/Medicaid per
On Tuesday, September 16, the House passed the Increasing Opportunity and Success for Children and Parents through Evidence-Based Home Visiting Act (H.R. 2824). Support was not overwhelming at 214 to 209. The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program, would be reauthorized for 5 years at its current funding level of $400 million, and include many other
Last week, the President’s Commission on combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis held its third formal public hearing. The Commission which had an original date of October 1 for recommendations has delayed that date until November 1. Opening comments included the testimony of Dr Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health. He
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
Last week, CWLA submitted comments to the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. The comments focus on how the Commission needs to include certain actions that can help address the drug epidemic’s impact on child welfare. On July 31, the Commission, Chaired by Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) released an interim report
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