On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved their tax bill (HR 1) by a vote of 24-16 while the Senate unveiled the outline of their version of tax reform. After various changes the House bill preserved the Adoption Tax Credit while the Senate bill also retains the credit in their version. Aside from
Tuesday’s election made Maine the 32nd state to expand Medicaid coverage under the ACA. A ballot initiative to require the expansion was approved by Maine voters with nearly 59 percent of state voters approving the expansion. Governor Paul LePage (R-ME) has blocked expansion since 2012 and he says he will continue to block expansion. He
Last week Wednesday, November 8, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on the impact of opioids on children, youth and families. The hearings were under the banner of two of the Committee’s subcommittees with an emphasis on children. According to the Committee information provided, 61.8 million patients received opioid prescriptions
On Wednesday, the former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, authored an Op-ed Opinion in the New York Times that ending DACA will undermine national security efforts. Gates pointed out that more than 800 Dreamers are currently serving in the armed forces. He highlighted that between 2006 through 2011 more than 45,000 immigrants served in the
There has been no progress on moving a CHIP reauthorization and movement in the Senate seems almost impossible this week as the Senate Finance Committee gets tied up with the tax package this week. That would appear to kick this can down the road beyond Thanksgiving. The House of Representatives passed their version of a
The President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioids Crisis released its final report on Wednesday, November 1. That wasn’t the only action or debate of the week on the topic, but it was the most significant. The Commission Final Recommendations: The report includes 56 recommendations but falls short on what they might cost
Last week the House Republicans unveiled their tax reform package, H.R 1. Since many tax credits and tax deductions were eliminated there were a few that CWLA and other advocates had hoped would be saved. The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credits did survive at a much smaller level but one that was eliminated was
Despite an agreement by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) on modest bipartisan changes to the ACA, the Trump Administration and Republican leaders have been taking aggressive action to undercut coverage and success. The President, HHS leaders, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX) were acting to aggressively undercut the
On Thursday, October 26, the House went along with the Senate budget resolution by a vote of 216-212. That resolution will allow for the fast-track reconciliation process that will allow for a deficit increase of $1.5 trillion over the next ten years. The reconciliation places time-limits on floor debate in both the House and Senate
On Thursday, the President announced a declaration of a national health care emergency. The declaration is intended to make it easier to use current programs and funds to better address the opioids situation. The declaration (which lasts for 90 days unless extended) came one day after the House Energy and Commerce Committee held their second