Budget

House Leadership Announces 2022 Schedule

On November 30, 2021 House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) released the 2022 House Calendar here.  If the Congress runs into the Christmas and New Year’s holidays it will be a quick return to work for the House members with the start of the second session on Monday, January 10, 2022. There will be a break

2023 Budget Likely Delayed

There have been no official announcements by the Administration, but with Congress once again unable to complete a budget before the end of the calendar year, (and maybe a reconciliation that would change programs) that likely sets back the planning, budget baseline and so many other factors that go into publishing an annual budget by

House Passes Build Back Better Reconciliation

The House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act reconciliation bill (HR 5376) on Friday, November 19, 2021, after a week of waiting.  The waiting was driven by the need for a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) “score” or estimation of costs and savings. That score came back on Thursday at the expected $1.7 trillion.

Full FY 2022 Appropriations in Doubt Along With Funding

Current funding for federal fiscal year ends on December 3, 2021, and while it appears likely Congress will pass another CR for a matter of weeks, a full year long appropriation adding new funds now seem much in doubt. A CR that extended for the rest of FY 2022 means that there would be a

CLASP Releases New Study on Family Use of CTC

On November 17, 2021,  CLASP released a new national CTC survey findings.  According to the research parents reported reduced financial stress, help in affording necessities and, for about one-quarter of respondents receiving monthly payments, working more hours outside of the home. The survey included 1,012 eligible families with children ages 0-17 living at home. It

Congress Returns for Intense Six Weeks

Congress returns this week with a long list of issues that need some form of resolution before the end of the year—or maybe not. The House will take up the reconciliation bill now that the infrastructure bill has been sent to the President. There was a commitment in some form on the part of more

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Human Service Part

When Congress completed work on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act they passed a major highway and road construction bill but there are important ‘human service” components that go beyond just the potential jobs created. The most significant human service need are the new provisions on drinking water, particularly with the removal of lead but

The Lead Problem in Drinking Water

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will provide some relief for an important human service need, reducing children’s exposure to dangerous lead in our drinking water.   In the middle of the last decade, the country saw close-up the havoc lead contamination can mean to a city and more importantly the families that live there.

Access to the Internet

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will provide a great deal of help to address a need that was exposed during this pandemic, access to the internet for remote and poor areas. The pandemic has highlighted the need for Broadband technology for work, school, and health resources. Broadband technology is defined as a “high-capacity transmission

Children’s Budget Shows Some Improvements

On November 3, 2021, First Focus on Children hosted the Children’s Budget Summit to highlight the release of their 15th annual Children’s Budget Analysis. Over the last 10 years, the Children’s Budget analysis has documented federal spending for children. Typically, this means watching federal spending for children be cut at a high rate. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused devastation across the world, Congress was compelled to make investments in early childhood, child care, education, family

Value prop about becoming a member