As reported in the press, the House passed the fiscal cliff bill last night. Of note to health and human services directors, the measure extended emergency unemployment benefits for one more year. It also extended the Earned Income Tax Credit, adoption tax credit and Medicaid transitional medical assistance for low-income families gaining employment.
No spending cuts were made to HHS programs, with the exception of extending already scheduled cuts to the Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payment program for one more year in FY 2022 at a cost of $4.2 billion.
To be sworn in tomorrow, the new Congress faces a number of key budget votes early this year. Discretionary cuts were avoided in the short-term, with the across-the-board cuts of 8.2 percent to domestic discretionary programs now delayed for two months. And, raising the federal debt ceiling was also left undone, with a federal default looming at about the same time as the sequester trigger would occur in early March. Nor did Congress extend the FY 2013 appropriations set to expire March 27, 2013.
Congress did not complete action on a farm bill reauthorization. Consequently, cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program were avoided, but proposed policies to restrict eligibility are likely to surface again this year as the reauthorization process begins anew.
In a separate measure, Congress adopted a significant bill important to child welfare administrators. Yesterday, the House approved the Uninterrupted Scholars Act (S.3472). Adopted by the Senate in December, the bill removes barriers child welfare agencies have faced in attempting to obtain in a timely manner the educational records of children in their care.
The bill would authorize schools to release a student's education records to a caseworker, state or local child welfare representative, or tribal organization that has the right to access the student's case plan. It also would allow schools to release a student's education records under court order without notifying the parent if the parent is involved in a court proceeding regarding child abuse and neglect or child dependency, and the court order is issued as a result of the proceeding. A summary of the legislation may be found here. President Obama is expected to sign the measure into law.
NACHSA Dues Are Due! And, with the new year, NACHSA 2013 dues are due. This is the ninth consecutive year that NACHSA's dues have been frozen. Click here to access the dues letter highlighting NACHSA's efforts in 2012 and the form itself.
