On Wednesday, 15, 2021, over 400 prominent economists outlined their strong support for a permanent extension of the CTC. In part they said: “Childhood poverty is a staggering problem in the United States, affecting approximately one in seven children, and one in five children of color, even before the Covid-19 pandemic began. Children growing up in
While Congress continues to wrestle with a reconciliation package, they also must deal with the start of the fiscal year 2022 on October 1, 2021. Aside from the reconciliation, which doesn’t have an actual deadline, there is a need to provide funding for the new fiscal year by October 1. At the same time Congress
Last Wednesday, September 15, 2021, the United States Department of Treasury released a study on the significance of child care to the U.S. economy and to families. The report, The Economics of Child Care Supply in the United States, indicated that for an average family with at least one child under age 5, approximately 13 percent
Last week the House Ways and Means Committee and other committees began to work on their parts of the reconciliation package. The Ways and Means Committee began work on their version of family and medical leave, trade, retirement, and Medicare expansion, but they have left other actions for this week. The House Education and Labor started their work
An August analysis based on Census data released after the first Child Tax Credit (CTC) was issued in July indicated that the percentage of American families with kids who report not having enough to eat fell dramatically. The data offer proof that the monthly payments are having a major and immediate impact on millions of households.
On Thursday, September 9, 2021, the House Education and Labor Committee began their work on that Committee’s reconciliation instruction. A key part of their effort is the expansion of child care, pre-kindergarten, and Head Start. The Committee draft starts out with child care funding that would be provided on a sliding scale. Families making
Last week the Senate completed action on a bipartisan infrastructure bill (HR 3684) and then moved a budget resolution that will allow for a budget reconciliation bill. The House leadership announced they would come back from the summer break to take up the resolution during the week of August 23, 2021. The infrastructure bill passed 69
Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) have introduced a bill that would clarify that facilities that meet the new Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTP) requirements under Title IV-E child welfare law found under the new Family First Act are not considered an Institution for Mental Diseases (IMD) under Medicaid law. The bill, S.
More than 500 organizations have signed a letter to Congress requesting that residential facilities that meet the new Family First Act “Qualified Residential Treatment Program” (QRTP) standards be exempt from being classified by Medicaid (CMS) as an Institution for Mental Diseases or “IMD.” The letter in part states: “(The Family First Prevention Services Act) FFPSA
In what is likely to be a long fall involving infrastructure, reconciliation, and appropriations, the Senate took its first significant steps late last week with the announcement of a bipartisan infrastructure deal. On late Wednesday, July 28, a deal to address the nation’s infrastructure was announced, and a vote to move forward on the still-developing