Letters and Correspondence
Letter: Support for Repeal of the "Cadillac Tax"
On February 7, 2017, First Focus submitted a joint letter to the Senate and House of Representatives urging Congress to prioritize investments in children’s programs, in support of your reintroduction of S. 58/H.R. 173, the Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2017. This legislation repeals the “Cadillac Tax,” which is a 40 percent excise tax on the cost of employer-sponsored health coverage that exceeds a certain and rather arbitrary premium benefits threshold of $10,800 for self-only coverage and $29,100 for family coverage in 2020.Read the full letter.
Recommendations for the First 100 Days of the Trump Administration
Over the course of the next four years, 16 million children will be born in this country and they deserve to be met with and be assured of a bright future.As such, the following are child- and family-focused policy recommendations that the President can follow to create a future that our children need and deserve.Our recommendations are broken into seven broad categories: ensuring a safe and healthy future; supporting families with children; ending food insecurity and promoting child nutrition; providing children with an early, solid foundation; helping every student succeed, focusing child abuse and...
Letter to Congress: Do No Harm with Changes to the ACA
First Focus Campaign for Children joined other child advocates submitted a letter to Congress calling for policymakers to keep the Affordable Care Act to ensure that any changes do no harm to children.Thanks to Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the ACA, ninety-five percent of children in the United States have health coverage – an historic high. Children must not lose ground: any health reforms must build on achievements already made to further improve coverage for children.Read the letter.
Letters to Congress: Pass a Short-Term CR, Address Zika Virus
On September 14, 2016, members of the Children's Budget Coalition submitted a letter to the Senate and House of Representatives urging Congress to prioritize investments in children’s programs while working in a bipartisan fashion, pass a short-term CR and address the looming Zika virus health crisis with emergency fundingIncluded are 23 members of the Children's Budget Coalition.Read the letter to the U.S. Senate.Read the letter to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Act Now to Support the Family First Act
Join advocates to support the passage of the Family First Services Prevention Act of 2016. Add your name here.Full letter: June 30, 2016Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Reid, Chairman Hatch, and Ranking Member Wyden:We the undersigned organizations representing the National Home Visiting Coalition (Coalition) are writing in support of the bipartisan, bicameral Family First Prevention Services Act (S. 3065). This landmark legislation is the next step in the long history of congressional action to protect children. We commend you for your continued commitment to providing high quality...
Letter of Support for Family First Prevention Services Act of 2016
On June 14, 2016, First Focus Campaign for Children submitted a letter of support to the chairs and ranking members of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee in support of the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2016. This bill makes important policy changes in federal child welfare spending that better supports the needs of vulnerable children and families.
Children's Budget Coalition Urges Bipartisan Agreement on Labor-H Spending Bill
Read the letterThe First Focus Campaign for Children and 21 other members of the Children's Budget Coalition today sent a letter to Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Reps. Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., urging them to support robust funding under a bipartisan compromise on federal programs that impact children under the jurisdiction of the Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, Health & Human Services and Education.According to the 2015 Children's Budget Book published by First Focus, total government spending on children in the last five years, when adjusted for inflation, is...
House Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016 Puts Access to Children's Food Programs at Risk
On April 22, 2016, the First Focus Campaign for Children sent a letter to members of the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee strongly stating its opposition of the Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016.We believe healthy nutrition is an essential building block of a healthy childhood and that no child in America should ever go hungry. Students who have access to healthy and nutritious food perform better in school. Twenty percent of American children live in poverty and more than 15 million children live in food-insecure households. Child nutrition programs play...
Statement for the Record for FY17 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bills
On April 15, 2016, the First Focus Campaign for Children submitted a Statement for the Record to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, Education, and related agencies.There are more than 200 distinct child and family programs and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services and Education has jurisdiction over many. Every year for the last ten years, First Focus has published an annual Children’s Budget book that offers a detailed analysis and guide to federal spending levels and priorities on children and families.Last year’s
No to H.R. 4722 and H.R. 4724
H.R. 4722 would deny millions children access to the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC).Currently, immigrant parents who are ineligible for a Social Security Number (SSN) pay their taxes using an Individual Identification Number, and are able to claim the CTC and its refundable portion for qualifying children. By requiring a SSN, more than 5 million children living in low-income immigrant families, the vast majority of whom are U.S. Citizens, would be directly harmed.The CTC and the ACTC were designed to benefit children, and we are opposed to any change in eligibility that would...