On Thursday, July 12 the House Appropriations Committee passed their Labor-Health and Human Services and Education bill after two previous delays. Most of the votes cast were along party line with a great deal of the debate focused on immigration and family separation. In the end the bill was approved along party lines with several
Last week the Senate Appropriations Committee acted on their Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations and sent it on to the Senate floor for future consideration. On the other side of the Capitol Building, the House Appropriations Committee once again delayed action on the Labor-HHS-Education bill reported out by the Subcommittee. Their bill for FY 2019 has been delayed
In the Senate Appropriations Report to the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations, the Committee directs HHS to provide monthly data and weekly updates on the status of children in HHS custody. The directive is attached to the $1.3 billion appropriated to the Unaccompanied Alien children line item. In the Committee comments they note the trauma and hardship being
On Wednesday, June 27, the House of Representatives put a final nail in the coffin of immigration reform compromise when the Goodlatte-Ryan bill went down to a big defeat by a vote of 121 to 301. There are suggestions that when the House returns from the July 4th break they will take up a narrower
A joint briefing by the YWCA and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation: A Report Back from the Border on Friday, June 29, provided a platform for advocates to call for congressional action. The panel discussion and remarks included Abel Nunez, CARECEN—Latino Resource and Justice Center, Maria Cardona, Latinovations, Maria Teresa Kumar, Vota Latino, Ranit Mishori, Global
Shaquita Ogletree Council for Strong America provided a Capitol Hill briefing on “Caring for the Youngest Victims of Our Nation’s Opioid Crisis.” Congressman Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) discussed the fifty-eight bills that were passed by the House of Representatives in recent days along with an additional $4 billion for states and said the action was in
Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WS) immigration compromise may come up for a vote this week. Originally the House was to vote on two bills on Thursday June 21, the Congressman Robert Goodlatte (R-VA) bill that was seen as a conservative vehicle and the Ryan bill that was labeled a compromise between moderate and conservative Republicans. The
On Friday, June 22 the House of Representatives passed HR 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act of 2018. That legislation will become a vehicle for a much larger package of legislation that addresses opioids and will eventually be sent to the Senate for action. For child welfare advocates, the bill includes legislation drafted
Last week the House Appropriations Committee delayed action on the Labor-HHS-Education bill reported out by the Subcommittee. Their bill for FY 2019 was scheduled for a vote but leadership pushed out the hearing due to the confrontation over immigration and border issues that could add costs to the HHS part of the bill. HHS includes
On Thursday, the House approved their farm bill with SNAP/food stamp restrictions by a vote of 213-211, HR 2. The vote was directly tied to the immigration debate as conservatives had sunk the bill last month because of unmet demands on immigration. Estimates are that the House bill will cut SNAP by $19 billion. CWLA