Congress
returned from August recess this week, but with less than two weeks
left in the legislative session, they aren’t expected to get much
accomplished in the coming days. As the January sequestration
implementation date quickly approaches, Congress is awaiting the Obama
Administration’s detailed report explaining just how the nearly $120
billion in automatic spending cuts would impact various federally
funding programs, including those serving vulnerable children and
families. The Administration acknowledged that the report would be
delayed, but as of print time, the report had yet to be released.
While
a select group of critical programs including IV-E Foster Care and
Adoption Assistance, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program,
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program are exempt from these cuts, others including IV-B
part 1, Child Welfare Services, Promoting Safe and Stable Families
Program, the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Head Start, and the
Social Services Block Grant are not. Stay tuned to The Children’s Monitor for updates on the looming sequestration cuts.
Although
Congress faces a number of deadlines, it is very unlike that much
negotiating or compromising will take place outside of the official
business necessary to prevent a government shutdown when the fiscal year
ends on September 30. Next week Congress will more than likely leave
for the last leg of the 2012 presidential race without taking any real
action on the other pending measures.
SO I guess it remains to be seen whether a bunch of maggoty CPS employees are going to end up begging for bread with the rest of us.
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