WASHINGTON—Bruce Lesley, President of The First Focus Campaign for Children, released the following statement on the CHAMPIONING HEALTHY KIDS ACT of 2017 (HR 3922), a House bill to extend funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP):

“We strongly support efforts in Congress to ensure continued health coverage for the 9 million children who rely on CHIP. Having missed the September 30 deadline to extend CHIP funding, states are preparing to dismantle their programs and alert families about disruption in their coverage.

The CHAMPIONING HEALTHY KIDS Act includes an important five-year extension to the program. This long-term extension would provide peace of mind and health care security for millions of families and stability for states that will allow them to continue to improve their CHIP programs and to innovate.

We are also pleased to see parent mentoring as an option for outreach and enrollment funding included in the bill as it is an evidence-based strategy to enroll more children in coverage.

However, we are concerned that some of the offsets included in this bill could have a negative effect on children. In particular, cuts to the Prevention and Public Fund that states use for immunizations and lead-prevention work could be harmful to kids’ health and wellbeing.

As the CHAMPIONING HEALTHY KIDS Act moves to the House floor, we urge leaders in Congress to work in a bipartisan manner to find offsets that reflect the bipartisan nature of CHIP, a successful 20-year-old program that has always enjoyed support from both sides of the aisle.

We owe it to our nation’s children to enact the best possible policy to keep them covered and healthy.”

WASHINGTON--The First Focus Campaign for Children applauds the introduction of the American Family Act of 2017, which would expand the Child Tax Credit to more effectively target low-income families and thereby reduce child poverty.

Introduced by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), the proposal would triple the maximum value of the Child Tax Credit to $3,000 per child ($3,600 for children under six), index the credit to inflation, and for the first time, make it fully refundable.  The bill would also distribute the CTC as a monthly $250 credit ($350 for children under six), giving families support throughout the year to address monthly expenses rather than forcing them to wait for an annual lump sum.

Unlike last month’s flawed “Big Six” tax Framework, which targets an expansion of the Child Tax Credit to middle class and wealthy families, Bennett and Brown’s proposal would target families with the greatest need and provide critical support for families with children who are struggling to get by.

First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley said:

“We enthusiastically support this proposal from Senators Brown and Bennett, two tireless champions for children on Capitol Hill.

We know that increasing household income leads to improvements in child development and educational attainment. The American Family Act of 2017 would go a long way in improving outcomes for our nation’s children.

Researchers at Columbia University estimate the Senators’ proposal could reduce the share of children in poverty by a whopping 45 percent. Lawmakers who are serious about making children and families a priority should embrace this proposal, especially if they are concerned about the effects of child poverty on our nation’s economic future.”

WASHINGTON—The Children's Budget Coalition, convened by the First Focus Campaign for Children, is dismayed that Congress passed a Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget resolution today that does little to protect or increase investments in the vital programs that serve American children and families. As outlined in the 2016 Children’s Budget Book, children continue to receive a decreasing share of the federal budget.

First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley said:

“This divestment in kids has a real and devastating impact on crucial resources for housing, education, nutrition, general welfare, and health, to name just a few.

Congress cannot continue to make children and families its last priority in federal budget decisions.

If they’re serious about the health and well-being of our kids—and America’s future—they will ensure that non-defense discretionary (NDD) funding has parity with defense discretionary spending. And they will support mandatory programs that help lift kids and families out of poverty. Today’s FY 18 budget resolution does neither.”

Despite the great need for relief from the 2011 Budget Control Act’s caps on NDD spending, the FY 18 Budget Resolution adheres to those caps—and projects massive cuts in those funds over the next ten years. At the same time, it allows for legislation that would increase defense discretionary spending above its FY 18 cap, abandoning the core sequestration principle of parity between NDD and defense discretionary spending.

Already, the BCA has resulted in an alarming 13 percent decrease in inflation-adjusted NDD spending since 2010.  Should Congress fail to reach a budget agreement to lift the FY 18 NDD budget cap, spending will continue to drop, with devastating consequences to over 130 discretionary programs that directly support children and families.

Although it was encouraging to see that the final FY 18 Budget Resolution abandoned the House’s damaging request for $200 billion in cuts to mandatory spending, its announced savings of $5 trillion over 10 years means that mandatory programs could be on the chopping block in the future. Meanwhile, plans to use reconciliation to generate tax cuts that add up to $1.5 trillion to the deficit over ten years could risk future spending on mandatory programs that support low income children.

SEE ALSO: The Children's Budget Coalition

WASHINGTON—The First Focus Campaign for Children welcomes today’s passage through the Senate Finance Committee of the KIDS Act of 2017 (S.1827), which includes a five- year extension of funding for the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). We are also pleased the House is marking up the HEALTHY KIDS Act of 2017 (H.R. 3921), which includes a similar five-year CHIP extension and other key provisions such as a guarantee of affordability standards and extensions of outreach and enrollment grants, pediatric quality measures, and Express Lane Eligibility that will help millions of children access high-quality care.

The two bills also sunset a provision in the 2015 extension of CHIP that resulted in $1 billion being stripped out of the program as of September 30, 2017, so that they will not happen again in the future.

We are concerned, however, about offsets in the House bill that would harm other critical programs benefitting American children and families. We urge Congress to identify offsets for the HEALTHY KIDS Act that reflect the bipartisan nature of CHIP and which do not hurt other safety net programs.

First Focus Campaign for Children Bruce Lesley said:

“Congress must get this done quickly and with great urgency. We’re encouraged by the action in the House and Senate on the five-year extension of CHIP, but urge members to make sure the final legislation doesn’t pay for CHIP by taking funds away from other vital programs that benefit kids.

After missing the deadline, Congress has left millions of American families in limbo, worrying about their children’s health coverage.

Congress’ failure to act before the deadline means states have to send disenrollment notices to struggling families and figure out ways to stretch their remaining federal dollars as long as possible. Some may be able to keep kids covered a few months, while others only have a few weeks.

Congress has a strong agreement on the policy to extend CHIP for five years and must act soon. Time is of the essence.”

Created in 1997, CHIP, along with Medicaid, has helped reduce the number of uninsured American children by a remarkable 68 percent, with more than 95 percent of all kids in the U.S. currently enrolled in some form of insurance coverage. CHIP covers nearly 9 million low-income American children and 370,000 pregnant women.

SEE ALSO:

• RELEASE : Campaign for Children Disappointed Congress Missed CHIP Funding Deadline
• First Focus and leading children’s advocacy groups issue joint statement on urging immediate action to renew CHIP funding
• Setting the Record Straight on CHIP
• Bruce Lesley: Nine Million Reasons to Extend CHIP Funding Now

WASHINGTON—The First Focus Campaign for Children is deeply disappointed that Congress allowed the funding deadline to expire for the popular and bipartisan Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which covers nearly 9 million low-income American children and 370,000 pregnant women.

Created in 1997, CHIP, along with Medicaid, has helped reduce the number of uninsured American children by a remarkable 68 percent, with more than 95 percent of all kids in the U.S. currently enrolled in some form of insurance coverage.

First Focus Campaign for Children Bruce Lesley said:

"Instead of focusing their resources on the health and well-being of the 9 million children and pregnant women CHIP covers, many states are now being forced to waste taxpayer dollars on actions to end the popular program.

Congress’ failure to act before the deadline means states have to send disenrollment notices to struggling families and figure out ways to stretch their remaining federal dollars as long as possible. Some may be able to keep kids covered a few months, while others only have a few weeks.

It was irresponsible for Congressional leaders to leave Washington last week without renewing funding for a successful and effective program that has always enjoyed support from Republicans and Democrats.

There is a bipartisan bill sitting on their desks that will extend CHIP funding for five years: The Keep Kids’ Insurance and Dependable Secure Act (KIDS). We urge Congress to pass it immediately so millions of families don’t continue living with the uncertainty of losing health coverage for their kids."

SEE ALSO:

• First Focus and leading children’s advocacy groups issue joint statement on urging immediate action to renew CHIP funding
• Setting the Record Straight on CHIP
• Bruce Lesley: Nine Million Reasons to Extend CHIP Funding Now

First Focus Campaign for Children, along with several children's advocacy groups, released a joint statement today on the impact of Congress' failure to pass the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by the September 30th deadline.

Read the statement.

Home Visiting Coalition

Media Contact:

Heather Cabral

202-550-6880

Home Visiting Coalition disappointed in program lapse; vows to continue effort for reauthorization

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sept. 29, 2017 — Despite strong bipartisan support, the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program (MIECHV) expires on Saturday, Sept. 30. The Home Visiting Coalition called the anticipated program lapse a disappointment, especially in light of decades of evidence that MIECHV-funded home visiting models improve the health, development and education of young children. 

“MIECHV will expire and the longer that Congress takes to reauthorize this bipartisan evidence-based program, the more likely local home visiting programs will shut down, home visitors will lose their jobs, and families will lose home visiting services  Quick action by Congress is the only way to prevent anxiety among families in every state and many tribal communities, and prevent further damage to the home visitor and parent relationships that make the MIECHV program so effective,” said Diedra Henry-Spires, CEO of the Dalton-Daley Group and co-convener of the Home Visiting Coalition.

The Home Visiting Coalition also reiterated its call for quick passage of the bipartisan Senate bill (S. 1829), which reauthorizes MIECHV for five years without the harmful state-match requirement included in the House bill that passed this week. The Coalition intends to redouble its efforts to see MIECHV through to reauthorization as its outcomes are both desired and effective.

“It’s astounding to me that a program with a long history of bipartisan support couldn’t quickly be reauthorized before it expired. We remain committed to seeing this through and will continue to work with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. MIECHV must get reauthorized quickly and in a way that preserves what works and continues to provide the home visiting services tens of thousands of families have come to rely on,” said Karen Howard, vice president of early childhood policy at First Focus Campaign for Children, and co-convener of the Home Visiting Coalition.

About the Home Visiting Coalition: The Home Visiting Coalition is a diverse group of organizations committed to the well-being of children, working to promote continued federal support of home visiting to strengthen families in communities across the country. Voluntary, evidence-based home visiting programs improve the health, development, and education of young children. These programs set the stage for children and families to become self-sufficient and successful.

Visit us online at HomeVisitingCoalition.com, find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter at @HomeVisiting

WASHINGTON—The First Focus Campaign for Children welcomed the announcement by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) today not to hold a vote on the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill, putting an end to their efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for now.

Bruce Lesley, First Focus Campaign for Children President, said:

“We’re glad to see the most damaging of all the repeal and replace bills suffer the same fate as the others. The American people have spoken again. Put simply, they want a healthcare solution that both sides can agree on. One that prioritizes the well-being of children and families and improves the lives of Americans.

As it turns out, there’s an urgent and immediate opportunity to improve the lives of nine 9 million low-income American children and pregnant women by extending funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which expires on Saturday.

CHIP is a popular, bipartisan, and successful 20-year-old program that has been awaiting action by Congress that was delayed by attempts to repeal and replace the ACA.

But the 9 million kids who rely on CHIP can no longer wait – it’s time for Congress to step up and protect children’s health coverage and pass the bipartisan CHIP extension bill (S.1827) before the deadline at the end of this week."

Our organizations represent children, pregnant women, families, children’s health care providers and advocates across the country, and we speak here with one voice to urge the U.S. Senate to keep health coverage for children strong by rejecting the Graham-Cassidy health care repeal bill.

The bill is an assault on the health and futures of our children, pregnant women, and adults and our nation. Yet the Senate is poised to run ahead to vote on the bill without a complete assessment from the Congressional Budget office on the cost of care and numbers of children, pregnant women and others who will lose coverage.

The Graham-Cassidy bill fails children by ending the Medicaid program as we know it, jeopardizing comprehensive, affordable health coverage for the 72 million vulnerable Americans, 37 million of them children, who rely on Medicaid for their health care.

Medicaid covers more than 40 percent of all children with special health care needs,roughly half of all births each year, and provides indispensable care for pregnant women. Medicaid offers comprehensive benefits many private health plans won’t cover, like hearing and vision screenings, and wheelchairs and hearing aids to meet children’s needs as they grow and develop. Medicaid is there for families struggling from the opioid epidemic, covering treatment for parents and services for their children, and from other disasters. Medicaid is there for families living at or near poverty and for children and youth in foster care. But if this bill passes, Medicaid will no longer be there for any of them.

The Graham-Cassidy bill fails children by leaving more families uninsured, or without insurance that meets their basic needs. It would return us to a day when insurance companies can deny essential health services, including mental health, substance abuse treatment, and maternity care, and discriminate against children and adults with pre-existing conditions. This bill’s deep and growing cuts in federal funding for states—estimated to be $4 trillion over the next twenty years—would likely result in tens of millions of adults and children losing coverage.

By focusing on passing the Graham-Cassidy bill next week, Congress is also poised to miss a real deadline, passage of a long-term extension of funding for the bipartisan Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by September 30, 2017. CHIP works because it is built on the strong foundation of Medicaid, and the two together have helped reduce the number of uninsured children by a remarkable 68 percent in the last 20 years. Just one week ago, a strong bipartisan bill was introduced to extend CHIP funding for five years, but now action to get CHIP over the finish line has stalled. Instead we are struggling to fight back the Graham-Cassidy bill that would dismantle rather than improve coverage for millions of children and pregnant women and also establish an enormous new block grant that threatens CHIP’s unique valuable focus on maternal and child health.

Today, a record 95 percent of children in America have health coverage. Rather than build on this progress, the Graham-Cassidy bill tears it down. Our nation’s children deserve health coverage that is there for them and their families. They certainly deserve better than the Graham-Cassidy bill.

“This is the most harmful healthcare bill yet. It’s beleaguering for American families to wonder what their future holds, as Congress cobbles together its latest answer to the ACA. We need policymakers to rethink this bill, with a clear ‘do no harm’ focus on our youngest citizens. The Graham-Cassidy bill is the complete opposite – it would do significant harm to the 37 million children who rely on Medicaid.”“The First Focus Campaign for Children strongly urges the Senate to oppose the Graham-Cassidy proposal, and instead create a healthcare solution that both sides can agree on – one that puts children and families first, and builds a brighter future for generations to come.”