What’s happening on the fiscal stalemate?

It’s increasingly looking like President Obama and leaders in Congress will be unable to agree to a “grand bargain” before year’s end that would end the fiscal stalemate that grips Capitol Hill. Instead,  we think it’s more likely that a…

The “fiscal cliff”: Are kids teetering on the edge?

What is this “fiscal cliff,” and are American kids teetering on the edge? As Congress scrambles to enact a deal before year’s end, what do we need to do to keep children from going over?

Next year, federal spending will…

Education funding gets hit from all sides: Why Congress should act

Even short periods of program cuts can mean permanent setbacks for American kids. That’s why this week we’re concerned about how a dip in education funding could leave some kids behind.

The recession didn’t just cost us jobs and wealth.…

The austerity bomb

We’ve heard a lot from Capitol Hill about the “fiscal cliff” lately. The confluence of budgets cuts and tax hikes is called a cliff for the dramatic fall-off in government spending. But Paul Krugman, the New York Times economist, says…

Around 1.6 million homeless youth need help

Each year around 1.6 million children experience homelessness, according to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, and to promote it they’ve put together research on what homelessness is like for young people and…

With AFT, we call for stronger air quality standards for our children

We could be doing more to protect air quality for our children, especially with asthma on the rise. That’s why Voices joined with the American Federation of Teachers to call on the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen soot standards.…

“Nation’s children have gotten lost in campaign shuffle”

As another election season comes to an end, we can’t help feeling that children have gotten ignored again. Certainly there was some mention of poverty on the campaign trail, but very little talk of education, child care, child development —…

Voices and more than 1,900 groups tell Congress: Let the Bush tax cuts expire

Voices and more than 1,900 public interest groups have come together with a message for Congress: “We should not try to reduce the deficit by slashing services that poor and near-poor people need; we need to invest in education, health…

A debate that mentioned real family issues

Advocates for children and families were impressed that the presidential debate held this week actually brought up issues of child care and family economic security. The often tense exchange didn’t just generate the instant-meme “binders full of women,” but also…

Debate on “domestic issues” neglects child care, student aid, immigration and much more

Yesterday we asked whether the first presidential debate would tackle some of the most important issues facing children and families. After all, we’d been disappointed before, in the debates during the primaries. Well, last night’s debate, while spending a lot…