Monthly Archives: March 2010
- CHN: Health Care Reform Victory
After over a year of contentious debate, sweeping health care reform legislation was enacted this week. For this historic occasion, President Obama used 22 pens to sign the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, H.R. 3590, into law on March 23. In the coming days he will also affix his signature to the Health Care Read More »
Posted in Health Comments Off - CHN: Sweeping Changes in the Student Loan Program
Attached to the health care reconciliation bill that passed both chambers on March 25 are far-reaching changes in the student loan program resulting in billions in savings in part used to expand the value and availability of Pell grants to college students from low- and moderate-income families. The legislation will allocate an additional $36 billion Read More »
Posted in Education and Youth Policy Comments Off - CHN: Kicking the Jobless When They’re Down
Unemployment Insurance Expires; But Some Jobs Measures Advance in Congress On March 10, hopes were high that unemployed people would no longer have to worry from week to week that the federal Unemployment Insurance program would soon expire. On that date, the Senate passed legislation (H.R. 4213) that included extensions through the end of 2010 Read More »
Posted in Economy, Labor and Employment, Unemployment Insurance Comments Off - CHN: Action on Child Nutrition Reauthorization in the Senate
High quality school breakfast and lunch programs and afterschool and summer food programs are all critical components in the goal of ending childhood hunger and reducing obesity. On March 17 the Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) released a discussion draft of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 to reauthorize these child nutrition Read More »
Posted in Food and Nutrition Comments Off - CHN: Democrats Explore Strategies to Complete Health Care Reform
Congressional leaders and the Administration are trying to figure out the exact content of a final health care reform package and the legislative strategy to get it through the House and Senate. Discussions have mainly centered on a two-step process by which the House would pass the Senate bill, H.R. 3590, and then both chambers Read More »
Posted in Health Comments Off - CHN: Unemployment Insurance Back on Track; Jobs Bills Move in Senate and House
Senator Bunning (R-KY) temporarily derailed attempts by the Senate to pass a short-term extension of federal Unemployment Insurance benefits. His actions allowed the program to expire on February 28th. But two days later Senator Bunning abandoned his stalling tactics and an extension through April 5, 2010 of UI and COBRA health insurance subsidies passed 78-19. Read More »
Posted in Economy, Labor and Employment, Unemployment Insurance Comments Off - CHN: Improved Measure of Poverty Announced by Obama Administration
On March 2nd, the Obama Administration announced the development of a new way to measure poverty. Long sought by researchers and policy makers, this new method will attempt to gauge more accurately both the expenditures and income sources of the poor. The new Supplemental Poverty Measure was described in a press statement by Department of Read More »
Posted in Poverty and Income Comments Off - CHN: The President’s Budget: Important Strides Forward After Years of Cuts
President Obama released his budget for Fiscal Year 2011 on February 1. It proposes investments in education, training, child care, and child nutrition. The budget recommends income assistance for people with low incomes and a number of job creation proposals. Many of the programs receiving at least modest increases in the President’s budget have been Read More »
Posted in Budget and Appropriations Comments Off - CHN: Health Reform Back on Center Stage
President Obama jump-started a new push for health reform when he released his own health care proposal on February 22 and convened Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle days later for a health care summit. Up until this point the President had only released principles for reform but nothing as specific as his Read More »
Posted in Health Comments Off - CHN: Senate Passes Jobs Bill; Abandons Unemployed Workers
Up to 1.2 million workers will prematurely lose benefits by the end of March due to the Senate’s inability to pass an extension of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and COBRA health coverage which expired February 28th. Efforts by Senate Democratic leaders to pass the short-term extension of UI and COBRA through April 5 that had Read More »
Posted in Economy, Labor and Employment, Unemployment Insurance Comments Off
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