Month: February 2019

Bills Introduced to Help Workers and Working Families

Several bills that would help workers and working families have recently been introduced, including minimum wage, pay equity, and paid leave proposals. The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 7), which strengthens and closes loopholes in the 1963 Equal Pay Act and provides effective remedies to women who are not being paid…

CHN: House Passes Budgetary Rules Changes

Now in the majority in the House of Representatives, Democrats passed a package of reforms that change how the chamber operates, including some changes the relate to the budget process. One change includes the automatic raising of the debt ceiling, or the nation’s borrowing limit, through the fiscal year once…

CHN: President’s Budget Expected in March

Looking past FY19, President Trump’s FY2020 topline budget message, priorities, and summary tables are now expected to be released the week of March 11. Detailed line-item information, including details on any proposed cuts to mandatory and discretionary (annually-appropriated) programs, will be released the week of March 18. The statutory deadline…

CHN: Disaster Food Aid for Puerto Rico Left Out of Deal

Advocates were deeply concerned that the deal to avoid another government shutdown did not include $600 million in additional funding for Puerto Rico’s Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP), the island’s version of SNAP/food stamps. The money was supposed to be included as part of a package to provide more than $14…

CHN: Deal to Finalize FY19 Funding Released

A deal to finalize FY19 spending and avoid another government shutdown took concrete form with the release of bill text on February 13. The outcome of negotiations among the 17-member conference committee who were tasked with writing a compromise version of the Homeland Security spending bill, it is expected to…