The First Focus Campaign for Children joined more than 50 state and national groups supporting the Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Fields Act, a bill that bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to include in the definition of “particularly hazardous oppressive child labor” any employment in which children under the age of 18 come into direct contact with tobacco plants or dried tobacco leaves. This bill is an important step in protecting child farmworkers from the health risks posed by working in tobacco fields. This letter was organized by Human Rights Watch.

Download the First Focus Campaign for Children endorsement of the bill.

I stand with @Campaign4Kids and over 50 groups in supporting the Children Don't Belong on Tobacco Fields Act: http://bit.ly/1E5ZEic
Tweet this now.

The First Focus Campaign for Children submitted this letter of support for the Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Fields Act, a bill that bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to include in the definition of “particularly hazardous oppressive child labor” any employment in which children under the age of 18 come into direct contact with tobacco plants or dried tobacco leaves. This bill is an important step in protecting child farmworkers from the health risks posed by working in tobacco fields.

We send this letter to Senate leadership urging them to break the impasse that has stalled the critical Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 and pass Amendment #271 to fix the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s definition of homelessness to include homeless children and youth who are living temporarily in motels or with others because they have nowhere else to go.

“Never budge! That's my rule. Never budge in the least! Not an inch to the west!  Not an inch to the east! I'll stay here, not budging!  I can and I will! If it makes you and me and the whole world stand still!" – The Zax by Dr. Seuss

Over 8 million children will be born during this Congressional term. And there are a sweeping range of issues before Congress that will fundamentally impact the lives of these kids.

Unfortunately, our country's leaders seem more interested in playing politics than governing. And much like Dr. Seuss’ stubborn Zax who found each other face to face refusing to budge, neither party is stepping aside to pass important legislation for kids.

The bipartisan Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 is being debated today on the floor of the U.S. Senate. This critical bill, introduced by Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), fights human trafficking and child sex trafficking with more support for victims, an increase in enforcement resources and prevention, and stiffer penalties.

The Victims of Trafficking Act is a good bill. It will protect children who are victims of sex trafficking, or at risk of sex trafficking. This bill, simply, should pass.

Should pass. But Republicans and Democrats are in a knock-down, drag-out fight over partisan additions and amendments that are preventing this important, bipartisan legislation from coming to a vote. And some of the amendments are really, really bad. Like Senator David Vitter’s (R-Louisiana) amendment to deny U.S. citizenship to some babies born in the United States. This unconstitutional proposal would leave many kids stateless, because denying babies U.S. citizenship in no way confers upon them citizenship in the country of their parents’ origin.

You can read this fact sheet from our partners at First Focus about preserving birthright citizenship here.

Denial of birthright citizenship in @DavidVitter's amndmnt impacts all Americans. Our fact sheet: http://t.co/IFwqKYqZWT #TheyAreChildren

— First Focus (@First_Focus) March 11, 2015

Of course, not all amendments are bad and partisan. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) has introduced an amendment to fix the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's definition of homelessness that excludes most of our country’s 1.3 million homeless students. Homeless children and youth are at high risk of being sexually trafficked, and the amendment would get them the help them need. This policy has broad bipartisan support.

Take action to support Senator Portman’s amendment.

Standing in the way of strong bipartisan policies that invest in children is becoming old hat for Congress. As we wrote in Huffington Post this week, Congress’ inability to compromise is threatening the future of the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program that provides coverage for over 8 million kids. And even though there is strong bipartisan support for the Maternal, Infant and Earl Childhood Visiting Program for home visiting, it is just days away from losing its funding due to Congressional inaction.

The Zax never learn their lesson, and indeed never budged. But the “world grew. In a couple of years, the new highway came through.” The Zax were forgotten, and life went on without them.

Unfortunately, our children’s future can’t bypass Congress. But someone has to pay the price. So when the world goes on despite Congressional inaction, it’s our children who will lose out.

“…If it makes you and me and the whole world stand still!” Sound familiar? Congress, don’t gamble with our children’s future. Quit playing politics and #InvestInKids: http://bit.ly/1DqdLLu

"If it makes you and me and the whole world stand still!” Congress, quit the politics: http://t.co/LaQAySsSGf #TheZax pic.twitter.com/BR2MCWsKV9

— CampaignForChildren (@Campaign4Kids) March 11, 2015

“When I was arrested by law enforcement for prostitution, I was made to feel like a criminal, like a juvenile delinquent. I felt stupid, ashamed, and ostracized by society. Days later, alone in my bedroom, I felt so abandoned, so forsaken by society, that I attempted suicide. I wish I could travel back in time to tell this young girl that, years later, advocates and legislators all across the country would be standing up for her, that they would demand better protection and services for kids like her.” -Testimony by Holly Austin Smith

These words by Holly Austin Smith, a victim of sex trafficking in the United States, echoed in the Capitol yesterday during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing, Human Trafficking in the United States: Protecting the Victim. The hearing was in response to a letter spearheaded by Senator Feinstein (D-CA) and signed by all 20 women currently serving in the Senate requesting Chairman Grassley to hold a hearing on the need to combat sex trafficking in the United States. The letter cited that human trafficking is a $32 billion criminal enterprise and that 83 percent of sex trafficking victims in the United States are American citizens.

The hearing comes on the eve of Senate consideration of several bills aimed at addressing the prevalence of child sex trafficking in the United States. The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (S. 178) provides more resources for victim services, and increases supports for law enforcement- both to catch perpetrators but also for training to better serve victims, the Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act (S.166) incentivizes states to implement safe harbor legislation so victims are not criminalized for prostitution and the Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act which includes services at homeless shelters for trafficked victims and extends the length of stays for runaway and homeless youth in emergency shelters. The bills are expected to be marked up by the Committee on Thursday and will likely be called for a full vote sometime next week.

In a show of solidarity and bipartisan support, several of the senators who requested the hearing testified and spoke on different aspects of the needs victims face. Senator Collins (R-ME) highlighted the issue that many of the youth who are trying to escape their traffickers and rehabilitate themselves have nowhere to go and often become homeless. Therefore partnerships between housing providers and other service providers are critical. Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) emphasized that buyers should be held strictly liable for their crimes and that families, schools and the foster system are failing these children and Senator Ayotte (R-NH) drew the correlation of drug trafficking with sexual exploitation of children as well as the need for prevention services. Finally, Senator Mikulski (D- MD), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee stressed the need for all the Committees to work together to pass the important pieces of legislation that would provide resources for the victims.

Panelists also discussed the issue of deterring traffickers and buyers at length. Malika Saada Saar the Executive Director for the Human Rights Project for Girls pointed out that penalties for those who rape minors are higher than those who pay to rape minors. She also stressed that often the buyers need to be held accountable so that the demand for trafficking is reduced. Michael Ferjak an Iowa Criminal Investigator discussed the training of law enforcement officers in investigating traffickers and buyers and guiding victims to appropriate services.

This hearing was unique and encouraging because broader systemic issues were discussed that lead to children being sexually trafficked. The link between homeless youth and trafficking is an important one as traffickers often prey on this vulnerable and desperate population. However, equally important was the point made by Jayne Bigelssen that as many as 50% of these youth have nowhere to go. Shelters are at capacity and unless more funding and resources are put into homeless and housing programs, these children will remain at-risk for trafficking. Similarly, Holly Austin Smith spoke on the need to recognize that LGBTQ youth are trafficked at significant rates, but have fewer resources available to them. It is important that these topics are not overlooked in legislation that is aimed to end the exploitation of children.

We are hopeful that this robust discussion will ensure passage of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, the Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act and the Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act through the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate floor and that Congress will continue to engage in this issue until trafficking of children is completely eradicated.

More than eight million children will be born in the United States during the 114th Congress. The decisions Congress makes about issues ranging from education to tax and immigration policy will shape their lives. Whether the next two years accelerate or impede the healthy development of those children is up to them.

First Focus Campaign for Children recommends this policy agenda to address the most pressing problems facing America’s children. The agenda is made up of six broad categories: ensuring a healthy future, ensuring every child a safe and permanent home, reducing child poverty, expanding opportunity through education and early childhood, valuing children and families, and investing in children and reforming government. Within each category is a list of goals and actions Congress can take to improve the lives of our children.

On February 11, 2015, the First Focus Campaign for Children (FFCC) submitted this statement for the record to the House Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee for the hearing entitled “Interior Immigration Enforcement Legislation.” The statement expresses FFCC’s opposition to H.R. 5143, H.R. 5137, and H.R. 2278, all of which are proposed legislation that threaten to harm immigrant communities. FFCC is particularly concerned with H.R. 5143 and H.R. 5137, two bills which would weaken protections for vulnerable child migrants by undermining their safety, due process rights, and exposing them to longer periods of time in detention. FFCC urges Congress to work on solutions to fix the immigration system that promote the best interest of children and keep families together.

Over the last year, First Focus Campaign for Children has been hard at work making children and families the priority in federal policy and budget decisions. Below is the list of our most popular resources for child advocates, policy makers, and the media in 2014. See the top 10 resources of our partners at First Focus.

1. Record Number of Homeless Students in U.S. Schools (Statement): Coalition statement on U.S. Department of Education data showing the United States has a record number of homeless K-12 students with over 1.2 million children being counted, an increase of 8 percent from the previous school year. 81 percent of the children are not recognized as homeless by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which prioritizes homeless adults.

2. 750+ Leaders’ Letter to Congress: Extend funding for the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (Letter): Over 750 leading national, state, tribal, and local organizations and elected officials wrote to Congress to urge a funding extension of the bipartisan Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV program).

3. 2014 Champions for Children (Awards): Champions and Defenders of Children awards recognize the top 100 Members of Congress working to make children and families a national priority in federal policy and budget decisions.

4. Dr. Phil and 100+ Organizations to Congress: Protect Kids from Overmedication (Press release): Dr. Phil McGraw, the leading mental health expert, television personality and outspoken children’s rights activist, cosigned a letter joining more than 100 organizations urging lawmakers to support a budget initiative aimed at reducing unwarranted overmedication of children in foster care. We coordinated the letter in partnership with Voice for Adoption, a national organization advocating for children in foster care.

5. CHIP is Critical for the Future of Children’s Health (Fact sheet): This paper discusses how the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) fits into today’s health care system, focusing on why CHIP continues to be an essential source of coverage for kids. It also underscores the consequences for children’s health of the coming funding crisis and why protecting the future of children’s health means continued funding.

6. Voters Support CHIP Extension (Poll): We commissioned opinion research to assess public support for CHIP. The survey, completed by the Republican opinion research firm American Viewpoint, found nearly three-fourths of likely voters support the extension of CHIP funding.

7. Reject Congressman Issa’s DACA Proposal (Letter): Letter to all members of the House of Representatives regarding the misguided, irresponsible, and mean-spirited Dear Colleague letter circulated by Congressman Darrel Issa in the June The Congressman’s letter proposed to address the issue of an increase of child refugees fleeing terrible and unspeakably violent circumstances and arriving at the Southern Border by eliminating the highly successful and popular Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative.

8. Homeless Children and Youth Act to Close Gaps in HUD Services (Blog post): This blog post covers the over 1 million homeless children in the United States, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s current definition of homelessness that excludes these children, and proposed legislation that would make several changes to the HUD definition and grant awards process in an effort to improve flexibility and efficiency.

9. Bipartisan Bill Re-Examines Overuse of Standardized Tests (Blog post): This blog post discusses how students, teachers, and schools have become unnecessarily overburdened by the growth of standardized testing and how proposed legislation would end mandatory over-testing and return to standardized tests offered once per grade span.

10. Protect her from harm (Advertisement): This advertisement, circulated to Congress, urges lawmakers to vote against a proposal that would have harmed over 1 million children and driven more families into poverty.

This week, the 114^thsession of Congress was gaveled into order. Among it were 45 returning membersrecognized as First Focus Campaign for Children 2014 Defenders of Children. Defenders of Children support efforts to advance policies to improve the well-being of America’s children.

The new Congress is a new opportunity for children’s advocates, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, future parents, pediatricians to share how important it is that children are the priority in federal policy and budget decisions. A recent poll of House and Senate offices by the Congressional Management Foundation found that most consider less than 30 social media comments enough to gain attention on an issue. And over half said that just a single constituent is enough to be influential.

Please take a minute to welcome back on Twitter the 2014 Defenders of Children, thank them for making it their priority to invest in kids, and share with them the issues important to you in the New Year. You can use the suggested tweet below, or find your Congressional representatives’ Twitter account by state. You can also see and thank returning Champions or Children, the highest level of recognition, here.

Welcome back to Congress, @Campaign4Kids Defender of Children @MemberTwitter! Please continue to make children the priority, #InvestInKids.
Tweet this now.

Alaska
Rep. Don Young (R-AK)California
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA)
Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA)
Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA)
Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA)
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Rep. David Valadao (R-CA)

Connecticut
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT)

Florida
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL)

Georgia
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA)

Illinois
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)

Iowa
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

Louisiana
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-LA)

Maryland
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

Massachusetts
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

Michigan
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)
Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI)

Minnesota
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)

Mississippi
Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS)Nevada
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)

New Jersey
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (D-NJ)
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)

New Mexico
Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM)

New York
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
Rep. Peter King (R-NY)
Rep. José Serrano (D-NY)
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)
Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY)

Ohio
Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH)
Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH)

Oregon
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)

Pennsylvania
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA)

Rhode Island
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

South Carolina
Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)

Utah
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

This week, the 114^th session of Congress was gaveled into order. Among it were 46 returning members recognized as First Focus Campaign for Children 2014 Champions for Children. Champions for Children make extraordinary efforts to protect and improve the future of America’s next generation.

The new Congress is a new opportunity for children’s advocates, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, future parents, pediatricians to share how important it is that children are the priority in federal policy and budget decisions. A recent poll of House and Senate offices by the Congressional Management Foundation found that most consider less than 30 social media comments enough to gain attention on an issue. And over half said that just a single constituent is enough to be influential.

Please take a minute to welcome back on Twitter the 2014 Champions for Children, thank them for making it their priority to invest in kids, and share with them the issues important to you in the New Year. You can use the suggested tweet below, or find your Congressional representatives' Twitter account by state. You can also see and thank returning Defenders of Children, the next highest honor, here.

Welcome back to Congress, @Campaign4Kids Champion for Children @MemberTwitter! Please continue to make children the priority, #InvestInKids.
Tweet this now.

Alaska
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

Arizona
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ)

California
Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA)
Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA)
Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA)

Colorado
Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO)

Connecticut
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)

Florida
Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL)
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL)

Georgia
Rep. John Lewis (D-GA)

Hawaii
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI)

Illinois
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL)

Maine
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

Massachusetts
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)

Minnesota
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN)
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)

New York
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY)
Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY)
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)

Ohio
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH)
Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH)

Oregon
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)

Pennsylvania
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)

Rhode Island
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI)
Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI)

Texas
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
Rep. Gene Green (D-TX)
Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX)

Vermont
Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT)

Virginia
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA)

Washington
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)
Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA)

Wisconsin
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI)
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI)