First Focus Releases Children’s Budget 2013, Including Detailed Analysis of Recent Federal Health and Education Spending Initiatives

First Focus, a bipartisan advocacy organization dedicated to making children and families a priority in federal policy and budget decisions, released their Children's Budget 2013 today. The Children's Budget is an annual report which details the scope of federal investment in our nation's children. More than 180 distinct federal investments which impact children are made every year; these…

Medicaid and Related Federal Administrative Expenses Will Not Be Affected by Automatic Cuts in the Budget Control Act of 2011

In a recent report, "Budget 'Sequestration' and Selected Program Exemptions and Special Rules", the Congressional Research Service (CRS) takes a closer look at budget sequestration scheduled to occur from 2013 through 2019 under the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA). Among other details, the report confirms the safety of specific programs, including Medicaid, which have been identified as being…

CRS Report: Budget “Sequestration” and Selected Program Exemptions and Special Rules

This report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides an overview of those programs to which apply exemptions and special rules, generally found in Sections 255 and 256 of BBEDCA, as amended (2 U.S.C. 905 and 906), under the Budget Control Act of 2011. Read the CRS Budget Sequestration and Selected Program Exemptions and Special Rules...

Deficit Committee Will Not Pass Reduction Plan

On November 21, the cochairs of the congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction announced that they will not submit a plan to Congress for reducing federal spending by $1.2 to $1.5 trillion. This announcement triggers across-the-board cuts to many federal programs, excepting Medicaid. This action concludes the work of the so-called super committee created as part of the Federal…

Federal Budget Act of 2011 and Medicaid Advocacy News

As part of the Budget Control Act of 2011 signed into law on August 2, 2011, a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction composed of 12 congressional members has been created and charged with proposing specific cuts of $1.2 to $1.5 trillion to any area of federal spending. Medicaid advocates nationally are taking this opportunity to educate legislators about the ongoing vital role this program…

Budget Control Act of 2011, S. 365

Signed into law on August 02, 2011, the Budget Control Act reduces federal spending over the next ten years by $917 billion, increases the debt limit to $2.1 trillion, and creates a bi-partisan Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to make proposals for an additional $1.2-1.5 billion in cuts by November 23, 2011. Read the Federal Budget Control Act 2011...

Congressional Budget Office Releases Summary of Federal Budget Control Act

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated the impact on the deficit of the Budget Control Act of 2011, as posted on the Web site of the House Committee on Rules on August 1, 2011. The legislation would: Establish caps on discretionary spending through 2021; Allow for certain amounts of additional spending for "program integrity" initiatives aimed at reducing the amount of improper…