Speaking Out! 5/17/2010

Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters

The Annie E. Casey Foundation tomorrow will release a KIDS COUNT Special Report, “Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters.”

The report will demonstrate the importance of reading proficiency at this crucial age to school success and overall child well-being. The event will feature speakers and a panel discussion, with experts from the private, nonprofit, and government sectors. You can join the live webcast online at 1:00 pm.

Emergency Spending for Education and Youth Jobs Hangs in the Balance

A $58.8 billion emergency spending bill has two areas of interest to child advocates: $600 million for summer jobs for youth and $23 billion to help state and local governments avoid layoffs for teachers and other education-related personnel. The latter was introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) last month to prevent 300,000 jobs from being cut when stimulus funds run out.

When the bill will reach the Senate floor is uncertain, but the House Appropriations Committee could act on its version of the supplemental as early as next week. Senators Dan Inouye (D-HI) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) are urging that the Senate pass the measure before the Memorial Day recess.

House Working to Complete “Job-Tax Extenders” Bill

The House is working to modify a bill (H.R. 4213) to extend certain benefits and renew tax credits until the end of 2010. It includes a five year extension of the Medicare physician payment fix, which is increasing the cost of the bill. This may prove challenging for a number of House members, particularly Blue Dogs and freshmen and sophomore members, who are concerned about the cost of the bill and how it is paid for. The tax “extenders” part of the bill is paid for, while the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund, the five year physician payment fix and other parts of the bill are not.

There are several spending priorities of note for child advocates that include extensions of unemployment insurance and COBRA for the unemployed through the end of 2010. Also included will be a one year extension of the TANF emergency fund and a 6-month extension of the federal match for Medicaid, both of which were ARRA provisions.

Votes will be close on this bill given the cost, the legislative climate, the focus of both chambers on cutting spending, and the onset of the election season.

The “Job-Tax Extenders” will come to the House floor sometime next week.

Keep the Pressure up for a Robust Child Nutrition Reauthorization

Last week 221 members of the House – both Republicans and Democrats – supported adding $1 billion a year ($10 billion over 10 years) to the Child Nutrition Reauthorization. Child advocates need to keep the pressure on as finding ways to pay for the increase continue to be a challenge.

With the Memorial Day recess approaching, now is a good time to make an appointment with your members of Congress to talk about the reauthorization and to press for the additional funding. You can also encourage them to make a site visit to a child care center or other site where children are receiving meals or schedule a call to talk about the importance of reauthorization and the increase in hunger among in your states and communities.

Click here to read the Voices policy brief on Child Nutrition Reauthorization.

Click here to send a letter to Congress on the importance of child nutrition.

Use the links below for additional tools developed by the Food Research and Action Center:

Organizing a Site Visit: http://www.frac.org/Legislative/action_center/organize_site_visit.htm

Organizing a Community Conference Call: http://www.frac.org/pdf/community_conference_call.pdf

Senate to Hold Hearing on the State of the American Child

On Wednesday, May 19, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Subcommittee on Children and Families will launch a series of hearings devoted to discussing the state of children and families. Panelists will kick-off this series of hearings by providing an overarching picture of the status of children across certain indicators of well-being, such as education, healthy, family support and the economy.

If you are interesting in obtaining additional information about this hearing, please click here. Subcommittee hearings usually are made available online.

Administration Unveils Interagency Obesity Action Plan

Last week, the Task Force on Childhood Obesity released its interagency work plan to reduce the childhood obesity within a generation. The overall goal is to bring down the childhood obesity rate to 5 percent by 2030. Currently the obesity rate stands at 17 percent among children and adolescents between the ages of 2 to 19. However, for children of color, particularly black girls and Latino boys, the obesity rates are significantly higher.

The report provides 70 recommendations that focus on the following: creating a healthy start for our children, from pregnancy through early childhood; empowering parents and caregivers to make healthy choices for their families; serving healthier food in schools; ensuring access to healthy, affordable food; and increasing opportunities for physical activity.

A copy of the report can be obtained from the Let’s Move! Website.