sequestration

by Noah Dzuba For poor children generally, and poor migrant children especially, the federal sequestration is going to mean compromised services through Head Start and Migrant Head Start, two programs that provide education and health services to children from birth to age five.

by Kevin Ryan When I read that Congress had sent its budget to President Obama for his signature today, all I could think of was the nearly 1,700 homeless young people who will sleep beneath a Covenant House roof in one of 19 cities across the country tonight.

The Senate has passed a spending bill for 2013 that includes some increases in juvenile justice-related funding from 2012. The bill would fund the government through the end of September, the close of fiscal 2013, and factors in cuts forced by the Sequestration. 

In the buildup to the onset of Sequestration last weekend, a flurry of charts and briefs emanated from Washington about the impact of these automatic cuts. Perhaps the most useful communiqué for the youth services field came in an Office of Management and Budget letter sent to Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio).

Continued gridlock in Congress, driven by the two parties’ competing philosophies in reducing the federal deficit, finally led last week to the triggering of sequestration, a series of automatic, across-the-board federal spending cuts totaling more than $1 trillion between now and 2021.

The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources is holding a hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 27, on the issue of adoptions from foster care.  The Adoption Incentive Fund, more commonly referred to as the adoption bonus, is due for reauthorization before the start of FY 2014.

Senate To Take Up VAWA Reauthorization The Senate plans to soon take up a new version of a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) for the 113th Congress.  The legislation must be reintroduced due to the fact that all legislation dies when a Congress ends.

President Signs Children’s Commission Into Law On Monday, January 14, President Obama signed the Protect Our Kids Act (HR 6655) into law. The Protect Our Kids Act (PL 112-275) establishes a commission to examine child deaths in the United States. 

Congress is making a quick exit for the campaign trail as the House of Representatives took only a few days last week to approve a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government for the next six months.