On Thursday, May 25, 2023, Representative Danny K. Davis (D-IL) joined with Representative Blake Moore (R-UT) to introduce the bipartisan H.R. 3662, Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act of 2023. The legislation would make the current Adoption Tax Credit fully refundable, removing income as a barrier to adoption. Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI), Representative Randy Feenstra (R-IA),
On May 17, 2023, a hearing was held by the Senate HELP Primary Health & Retirement Subcommittee, “A Crisis in Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Care: Closing Gaps in Access by Bringing Care and Prevention to Communities,” to discuss the disparities in access to mental health and substance use disorder care throughout the country.
In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal waivers issued by the Food and Nutrition Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture provided flexibility that enabled child nutrition program operators to feed children amid challenges brought on by the pandemic, according to a new study. “Our study revealed how measures taken at the height
On May 24th, the House Republicans passed a resolution to overturn President Biden’s student debt relief plan that would give up to $20,000 in loan forgiveness to borrowers in a 218-203 vote, largely along party lines. The proposal, which is also currently being considered by the Supreme Court, is estimated to cost around $400 billion.
On May 25, 2023, Fortune reported that even ass the federal government cracks down on child labor violations, some state lawmakers are advancing legislation to let children work longer hours and in more hazardous occupations. These mostly Republican legislators in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Ohio argue that these changes could ease national labor shortages, but children’s
On May 24, 2023, Trust for America’s Health released its annual report, “Pain in the Nation 2023: The Epidemics of Alcohol, Drug, and Suicide Deaths.” The report finds that the rate of U.S. deaths due to alcohol, drugs, and suicide climbed 11 percent in 2021 to a record 209,225 deaths. Key findings include: Drug overdose
As of this weekend no deal has been reached on raising the debt ceiling, despite promising reports earlier in the week that negotiations were going well. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Biden met on Tuesday to continue discussions, and top negotiators for each of them continued meeting throughout the week. On
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) released a policy brief on May 12, 2023, exploring the connection between the TANF proposals in the debt ceiling negotiations and child welfare involvement. The paper cites research from Chapin Hall, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and others that illustrate that "policies that take cash assistance
The Center on Policy and Social Policy at Columbia University released a new policy brief on May 16th, 2023, titled “The Costs of Cutting Cash Assistance to Children and Families: Changing TANF work requirements could cost society up to $30 billion per year.” This brief, a response to the House-passed debt ceiling bill, is timely
On Wednesday May 17, 2023, the House Appropriations began marking up some of the appropriations bills for FY2024. Although the House Majority has not released a budget resolution, the House-passed Limit, Save Grow Act on the debt ceiling has proposed overall discretionary spending be capped at FY2022 levels; it is widely accepted that Defense spending