Tax Bill Negotiations Continue

The House and Senate set up a Conference Committee to resolve differences formally, but the actual meeting of this Committee is unlikely to be where real decisions are made. A Conference Committee includes membership from both houses and both parties but when they do meet it will be likely to be to approve what has

DACA Fate Tied with Year End Deals

As leaders met at the White House it became no clearer whether young people effected by the President’s repeal of DACA will get relief by the end of 2017.  On Tuesday, December 5 a letter was sent to the Speaker by 34 House Republicans calling for action on DACA by the end of this year. 

Labor-HHS Subcommittee Reviews Opioids

Download CWLA Advocacy App to Your Phone and Advocate on Your Own Time! Search for "voterVOICE" (one word) in your App store, or use one of these links: Google Play or iTunes After you download the App, you will be prompted to enter your email. A verification code will be sent to your email. After

Update on CHIP and Home Visiting

With negotiations on the CR extended reauthorizations like CHIP and the Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program could be either thrown into a larger separate package or part of the end of year deal on the budget—whatever that may be.  Still in play from MIECHV is the length of the extension, whether

Congressional Leaders Looking for December 22 CR

Congressional Republicans are hoping to adopt a two-week CR that would extend funding for two weeks to December 22, 2017 so they could then extend funding for two to four more weeks to January 2018. Last week ended without a meeting between the Congressional Leaders and the President after Mr. Trump tweeted at the Congressional

HHS Designee Finishes First Hearing

On Wednesday, November 29, the HELP Committee held the first of two Committee hearings on his nomination. HELP holds a hearing over the HHS Secretary position, but the actual approval vote comes through the Senate Finance Committee. Alex Azar, nominated to fill the vacancy left when Tom Price was forced out earlier this year due

Congressional Bills Extend Court Improvement Program (CIP)

Last week’s Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released similar bills to extend the Court Improvement Program (CIP). The CIP is part of the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program. It provides approximately $30 million a year to all fifty states through their state court systems to better link and educate judges

Update on CHIP Reauthorization

There has been no progress on CHIP reauthorization but there was a lot of talk. There was a debate on the Senate floor when Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said that CHIP would get done because “I invented it. I was the one who wrote it… Kennedy came over and became the one who helped put

Tax Bills Pass House and Senate Finance Committee

Thursday, November 16 was a big day for tax cut advocates.  The House of Representatives passed their tax bill (HR 1) by of 227 to 205 with all but 13 Republicans and no Democrats voting for it.  Later that evening the Senate Finance Committee passed their counter proposal out of Committee by a vote of

Value prop about becoming a member