For advocacy tools, click here.

Legislative Updates

May 2007

Bill Introduced to Improve Food Stamp Program

On May 3, 2007, U.S. Representatives James McGovern (D-MA) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) introduced the “Feeding America’s Families Act” (H.R. 2129), which would improve benefit levels, expand eligibility, and improve access to the Food Stamp Program.  (Source: Food Research & Action Center)

Speaker to Convene National Summit on America’s Children

Speaker Nancy Pelosi will convene a bipartisan summit on May 22 to hear from leading scientists and experts in a wide array of areas, including early childhood learning, health care, and child care. Practitioners of innovative public and private initiatives will be invited to attend to offer research-based testimony to assist the lawmakers in the development of federal policy.

House Passes Head Start Bill

On May 2, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Improving Head Start Act of 2007 (H.R. 1429) by a vote of 365-48.  The legislation increases income eligibility from 100 to 130 percent of the poverty level, terminates the controversial National Reporting System testing for toddlers, and requires that by 2013, 50 percent of Head Start teachers nationwide have a baccalaureate degree, without sanctioning programs that have difficulty meeting the benchmark.   (Source: Coalition on Human Needs)

Report Tracks Governors’ Initiatives for Children and Families

Voices for America’s Children has compiled a report on Governors’ commitments to improving their state’s ability to better meet the health care, education, and child welfare needs of children.  State summaries also detail Governors’ initiatives to improve the socioeconomic environment for families through proposals to increase the state’s minimum wage, reduce the tax burden and offer workforce investments.

States Move Forward on Child Health Coverage

A new report by the Georgetown Center for Children and Families confirms that state governments are taking strong steps to strengthen and expand children’s health coverage, but quick supportive action by Congress is critical to the success of these efforts. The report highlights that, since January 2006, 29 states and D.C. have enacted or advanced proposals to increase enrollment of uninsured children already eligible for public coverage and, in some instances, to expand eligibility for these programs.

April 2007

Federal Legislation Introduced to Guarantee Paid Sick Days

On March 15, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced the Healthy Families Act, which would require employers with 15 or more employees to provide seven paid sick days to address an employee’s short-term medical needs or those of his or her family.  48 percent of private-sector workers and 79 percent of low-wage workers have no paid sick days.  The National Partnership for Women & Families has created an online toolkit with information and resources about paid sick days.

Maryland Legislature Passes Statewide "Living Wage"

The Maryland General Assembly passed legislation to require companies with state service contracts to pay workers a "living wage".  Gov. Martin O'Malley is expected to sign the legislation, making Maryland the first state with such a law.

Updates on State EITC Legislation

The State EITC Online Resource Center provides policy updates about state efforts to enact or expand state Earned Income Tax Credits. 

Review, Assessment, and Forecast of Federal Assets Policy

This report from the New America Foundation summarizes the current state of federal policy through an asset-building lens, especially as it affects the asset base of families with lower incomes and fewer resources.

Housing Advocate's Guide

The 2007 edition of the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual Advocate’s Guide to Housing and Community Development Policy, describing programs, issues, and policy proposals, is available on the Web.

March 2007

New Mexico Enacts State Earned Income Tax Credit
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson signed legislation on March 16, 2007,  that creates a state Earned Income Tax Credit.  The refundable credit will be set at 8 percent of the federal EITC and allows low-income families to claim both the state EITC and the state's existing Low Income Comprehensive Tax Rebate.  Twenty-one states, including the District of Columbia, now have a state Earned Income Tax Credit.   For more information, click here.  (Source: The EITC Policy Update)

New Analysis of Congressional Health Care Proposals
A new Commonwealth Fund analysis of health care reform proposals in Congress shows that many of the bills, if passed, could significantly reduce the number of uninsured Americans and decrease overall health care expenditures. The report considers whether the proposals would improve access to care, increase health system efficiency, make the system more equitable, and improve quality of care.  For more information, click here.

Head Start Reauthorization Bills Approved by House and Senate Committees
The House Education and Labor Committee on March 14 voted 42-1 to reauthorize the Head Start early childhood development and education program. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on February 14 unanimously passed the Senate's reauthorization bill.  For more information and analyses of both bills from the National Head Start Association, click here.

Kinship Care and Home Visiting Bills Reintroduced
On February 16, Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), with cosponsors Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Thad Cochran (R-MS), reintroduced the Kinship Caregiver Support Act (S.661).  The act would establish a Kinship Navigator Program to help families locate services such as respite care and child care, health care, housing assistance, school enrollment, and many other services and benefits.  Also on February 16, Senators Kit Bond (R-MO) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) reintroduced the Education Begins at Home Act (S. 667), which authorizes $400 million for states to implement early childhood home visiting programs.  For more information, click here. (Source: Child Welfare League of America)

Recommendations for Next President on Poverty and Inequality
The next President should launch a new generation of effective policies based on a comprehensive work-family-education assault on poverty and inequality, according to a new position paper from the Brookings Institution.  Three effective ways to reduce poverty are to increase work levels, reverse the growth of single-parent families, and improve educational outcomes.  For more information, click here.

February 2007

Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Paid Sick Days

On February 13, the Senate Health, Education, Labor (HELP) Committee held a hearing on the ways paid sick days impact working families. Currently, almost half of private-sector workers are denied paid sick days and of the lowest quarter of wage earners, 79% have no paid sick days at all.  The Healthy Families Act would require employers with 15 or more employees to provide seven paid sick days to care for their own and their families’ medical needs, benefiting 66 million Americans.  To watch the hearing or read the witness testimony, click here.  The Center for Law and Social Policy is hosting an audio conference on paid sick days on March 15.  For more information, see the Conferences & Events section below.

Two Congressional Hearings on Poverty

On January 24, the full House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the economic and societal impacts of poverty.  Witnesses included representatives of the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Brookings Institution, and National Center for Children in Poverty.  For more information, click here.  On February 13, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Supports held a hearing on economic opportunity and poverty in America.   The hearing featured people relating their experiences living in poverty as well as public policy experts.  For more information, click here.

Hearing and Report on Prescription Drug Coverage for Low-Income Beneficiaries

At a U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing on January 31, the Access to Benefits Coalition (ABC) and National Council on Aging (NCOA) released a report showing that between 3.4 and 4.4 million Medicare beneficiaries remain eligible for the low-income subsidy (or Extra Help) through the Medicare’s Prescription Drug program, but still have not signed up.  In testimony before the committee, NCOA called for increased outreach activities, including $4 million in federal funding to support the National Center on Senior Benefits Outreach and Enrollment, which was recently  authorized under the Older Americans Act.  For the report and testimony, click here.

Congressional Scorecard on Children's Issues

The 2006 Children's Defense Fund Action Council Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard grades every member of the House and Senate based on key votes affecting children.  Find out who got a perfect score, who "failed," and how your elected officials rate when it comes to protecting children with their votes.  For more information, click here.

January 2007

Analyses of President's Health Proposal

A new analysis from the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center concludes that elements of President Bush's plan to expand health care coverage, announced in his State of the Union address, could actually reduce insurance coverage, particularly for low-income families and people in poor health. The paper suggests ways the proposal could be modified to limit undesirable outcomes while improving its likelihood of boosting coverage and trimming costs.  For more information, click here.  A Commonwealth Fund analysis contends that the President's proposal to offer tax deductions to those who buy insurance would do little to cover the nation's nearly 47 million uninsured.  For more information, click here.

Diverse Coalition Proposes Plan to Expand Health Care Coverage

A broad coalition of 16 influential health care organizations announced an agreement to expand coverage for the uninsured.  Its first phase calls for a “one-stop shopping” system whereby low-income families could enroll uninsured children in SCHIP or Medicaid at the same time as they apply for other public programs, like reduced-cost lunches or food stamps. The proposal would provide states with the additional funds needed to enroll eligible children and calls for a new tax credit to help families cover some of the cost of providing private health insurance for their children. The second phase of the coalition’s proposal would give states the flexibility and funds to expand Medicaid eligibility to cover all adults with incomes below the federal poverty level, millions of whom are currently ineligible for public coverage.  For more information, click here.

New Survey on Access to Medicaid and SCHIP; Resources on SCHIP

A new 50-state survey released by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) shows that one-third of states (17) increased access to health coverage in 2006, and none of the states cut income eligibility in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for the first time in four years. KCMU also released three new publications on low-income children’s health coverage and the SCHIP program ahead of the anticipated congressional debate on SCHIP reauthorization.  For more information, click here.  Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families has launched a new Web page with resources on SCHIP’s track record, eligibility and benefits, and financing.  For more information, click here.

House Passes Minimum Wage Increase; Fact Sheet Highlights Benefits of Increase

On January 10, the House of Representatives voted 315-116 to raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over the next two years.  The Economic Policy Institute created a concise "Facts at a Glance" about the benefits of a minimum wage increase for low-wage workers.  The fact sheet also cites studies that have found no evidence of job loss from the last minimum wage increase.  For more information, click here.

For 2006 Legislative Updates, click here.

Advocacy Tools

Youth Policy Action Center

The Youth Policy Action Center is a central hub to issue action alerts and post resources for youth and youth advocates. The Action Center's goal is to aid the youth movement by supporting organizations and individuals to promote youth involvement and empowerment.  For more information, click here.  

Advocacy for Children and Families

The Alliance for Children and Families' public policy section summarizes legislative news, provides action alerts, and includes fact sheets, issue briefs and public policy position statements.  For more information, click here.   Child Welfare League of America's advocacy page features hot topics and fact sheets on a wide array of federal programs serving youth and families.  Sign up to receive Children's Monitor Online and Legislative Alerts.  For more information, click here.

Advocacy for Low-Income and Other Vulnerable People

The Coalition on Human Needs is an alliance of national organizations working together to promote public policies that address the needs of low-income and other vulnerable people.  The web site features reports, issue alerts, policy analysis and research.  For more information, click here.

Congressional Scorecard on Children's Issues

The 2006 Children's Defense Fund Action Council Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard grades every member of the House and Senate based on key votes affecting children.  Find out who got a perfect score, who "failed," and how your elected officials rate when it comes to protecting children with their votes.  For more information, click here.