This week, the Trump Administration released a broad tax proposal to Congress which includes expanding the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) with the possibility of making it refundable.

Did you miss our child care policy briefing on March 23, 2017 for Congressional staffers on the issue of child care? Visit our Facebook page to see a recording of the live coverage.

Approximately 45 congressional staffers attend the event when CCAoA discussed the state of public investments in child care and early childhood development programs and what Congress can do both maintain and improve them. This briefing also discussed importance of federal child care programs like the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), as well as provided insight into how child care is critical to families, providers, and local businesses.

President Trump submitted his FY 2018 budget request to Congress. As expected, the President maintained his commitment to reducing all non-defense, discretionary programs by a total of $54 billion. However, his proposal includes cutting all federal support for two programs that are vital to low-income and working class communities; the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs.

UPDATED post: Last Friday afternoon, the House of Representatives withdrew a scheduled vote on H.R. 1628, the "American Health Care Act (AHCA) of 2017," after it was very clear that House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) did not have the votes for passage.  This came after a late-night deal of adding a provision to H.R. 1628 that would have cut $15 billion in mandatory care, as required under the Affordable Care Act of 2010, which would have impacted maternal and mental health coverage.

Late last night, the Senate confirmed Georgia Congressman, Tom Price, as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on a 52-47 party-line vote. Secretary Price will now oversee critical programs that support children and families including the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and Head Start. In addition, he will also be a key person in implementing the expected changes and/or possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act, of which he has been a fierce critic over the last several years.

Earlier today, the Senate confirmed President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, on a 51-50 vote with Vice-President Pence casting the deciding vote. This is the first time a sitting Vice-President has had to vote to confirm a cabinet nominee.

Last month, Betsy DeVos had a very contentious nomination hearing with the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee which resulted in all Democrats, as well as Independent Senators Bernie Sanders (VT) and Angus King (ME), opposing her on the Senate floor. Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Susan Collins (ME) also joined the Democrats in opposing Mrs. DeVos.