The Senate gave final approval to an omnibus appropriations bill on Thursday, May 4. The legislation was unveiled Monday and moved quickly through the process. As a result, we are now finished with FY 2017 which ends on September 30, 2017. After the unveiling the fight turned to who won and who lost. The President
By Shellie Parrish Quality child care for disadvantaged children can result in significant economic and social gains later in life according to new research. The conclusion is the result of new findings by Professor James Heckman, University of Chicago. The study displayed the correlation between access to quality child care and earned income of children
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) have reintroducing a bill that is intended to help states identify children who come into contact with both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems (dual status children and youth). The Childhood Outcomes Need New Efficient Community Teams or CONNECT Act would authorize competitive grants to
On Tuesday May 2, there was a Capitol Hill briefing, Public Health Crisis: Solutions to Violence and Abuse focused on the impact of domestic violence over a lifetime. The briefing was cohosted by the National Health Collaborative on Violence and Abuse and Futures Without Violence. Speakers included representatives from the Centers on Disease Control and
The House of Representatives is once again attempting another effort to repeal the ACA. The effort is a result of the White House push to try and get a vote before the President had reached the informal judgement date of 100 days in office. The vote could still take place this week if Speaker Paul
Last Friday morning the Capitol Hill publication, the Hill, released an unofficial count of key members of the Republican caucus and their stance on the modified ACA-repeal bill. In that report, they had already reported 21 members opposed, which if true would be enough to sink the measure. They also indicated that 56 were undecided
On Friday afternoon, the Congress extended funding for FY 2017 for another week until May 5. The short-term CR was intended to give Congress more time to iron out the last remaining deal on a final budget for fiscal year 2017 which ends on September 30 of this year. By late Sunday night, Congressional leadership
The 5th National GrandRally is coming in a few days and registration is still open! The GrandRally for grandparents and other relatives raising children will be on May 10, 2017 on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. It is an opportunity to elevate for Members of Congress and the public the critical
Last week the Administration unveiled a broad outline of what they are seeking in terms of tax changes and tax reforms. The press conference and the one page document that the White House released provided only the broadest of indications of what they are seeking to do. Those changes revolve around simplifying the tax code
Congress returns this week in what is likely to be a challenging next four to five weeks. Congress will have to deal with funding for the current fiscal year, deal with a new full budget which covers the 2018 appropriations, and potentially wrestle with a new push by the Trump Administration on a repeal of