This week in Washington, Congress will be tied up with the National Defense Authorization Act and voting to raise the debt ceiling - among many other things.

Last Friday the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued another score of the costs of the legislation. The first score (full record of scores on BBB can be found here) focused on the bill as proposed with some programs ending after a few years. The 12/10/21 CBO score looked at the cost of BBB IF the legislation was permanent; meaning programs included in the bill would continue for 10 years. The second score showed astronomical costs, however, it is important to note that as currently proposed, BBB only funds programs for a few years; not permanently. The second CBO score was released on the same day as data came out indicating that inflation is the highest it has been in 40 years.

H.R. 5551, the “Improving the Health of Children Act,” was introduced by Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Lori Trahan (D-MA), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), and Richard Hudson (R-NC). The bill would reauthorize the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) at the CDC, expand the scope of programmatic work, and increase the overall authorization level for NCBDDD. The bill passed on the House Floor by a vote of 405-20.

H.R. 3894, the “Collecting and Analyzing Resources Integral and Necessary for Guidance for Social Determinants Act of 2021" or the “CARING for Social Determinants Act of 2021,” was introduced by Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL). The bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide guidance and technical assistance to states on how to address social determinants of health through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). It also requires that the guidance be updated every three years. The bill passed on the House Floor by a vote of 378-48.

H.R. 4026, the “Social Determinants of Health Data Analysis Act of 2021,” was introduced by Reps. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE). The bill would require, among other things, the GAO to submit to Congress within two years of enactment a report on the actions taken by the Secretary of HHS to address social determinants of health. The bill passed on the House Floor by a vote of 399-28.

Yesterday President Biden signed an Executive Order on transforming Federal Customer Experience. Viewed as an extension of the Administration’s equity work aimed at restoring trust in government, the order calls out High Impact Service Providers and sets standards. 

A fact sheet on the order can be found here.

“Mental health challenges in children, adolescents, and young adults are real and widespread. Even before the pandemic, an alarming number of young people struggled with feelings of helplessness, depression, and thoughts of suicide — and rates have increased over the past decade.” said Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. “The COVID-19 pandemic further altered their experiences at home, school, and in the community, and the effect on their mental health has been devastating. The future wellbeing of our country depends on how we support and invest in the next generation. Especially in this moment, as we work to protect the health of Americans in the face of a new variant, we also need to focus on how we can emerge stronger on the other side. This advisory shows us how we can all work together to step up for our children during this dual crisis.”

Read the full Surgeon General Advisory on Protecting Youth Mental Health here.

Consider this blog post from Georgetown CCF for analysis of the Surgeon General’s advisory.

To inform policymakers, children’s advocates, and the general public about how public funds are spent on children, this 15th edition of the annual Kids’ Share report provides an updated analysis of federal expenditures on children from 1960 to 2020. This year’s Kids’ Share report also provides a view of public expenditures from the nation’s initial responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the report, Urban Institute also published a new feature -- Six Charts about Federal Spending on Children during the Pandemic.

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) released Centering Disability in Technology Policy, a report highlighting the ways in which technology can discriminate against disabled people – and what advocacy groups, regulators, and funders can do to change this. A plain language version of the report, linked here, was also released. The report makes a number of recommendations for tech organizations, public interest groups, or anyone with an interest in using technology to meaningfully improve peoples’ lives. It covers a wide range of topics, including digital accessibility practices, equitable employment and education access, data privacy, online hate and harassment, law enforcement surveillance, algorithmic bias, and more.

Nemours Children’s Health has released an issue brief that offers policy recommendations for Congress and the Executive Branch to prioritize and invest in children's healthy development in the early care and education (child care) sector. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, families with young children have been faced with many challenges, including school and early care and education (ECE) program closures, unemployment, missed life events, and an overall sense of instability. African American and Latinx households with young children have reported higher levels of food insecurity and exhibit higher rates of obesity. The ECE sector is critical to children’s healthy development, providing them with daily nutrition supports and helping them to build social and emotional skills.

The Health Equity Work Group (HEWG) of the American Academy of Actuaries has issued a request for information (RFI) to solicit input to its work assessing whether and how common practices and methods used by health actuaries and health plans affect health disparities. Health actuaries often partner with other professionals in many different aspects of the health care and health insurance systems, including those related to administration, financing, and care management.

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Family Voices is a national organization and grassroots network of families and friends of children and youth with special health care needs and disabilities that promotes partnership with families--including those of cultural, linguistic and geographic diversity--in order to improve healthcare services and policies for children.