Social Welfare
Maternal Mortality Reviews Drive Medicaid, Health Equity Changes
State maternal mortality review committees are driving policy changes aimed at preventing pregnancy-related deaths, including expanded postpartum Medicaid...
Lack of Awareness Plagues Reporting on Federal Building Barriers
Tens of millions of Americans with disabilities who visit or work in federal office buildings may not know they have a legal right to file accessibility...
GAO Finds Gaps in Federal Contraceptive Coverage Compliance
A new U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on contraceptive coverage compliance found that federal oversight has identified noncompliance...
VA Moves Slowly on Pacific Veterans' Health Care
Veterans from three Pacific nations who served in the U.S. military are struggling to access the health care benefits they earned, and a new Government...
Official poverty rate falls to 10.2%, SPM flat at 13.1%
The United States official poverty rate fell to 10.2 percent in 2025, down from 10.7 percent the prior year, according to a Congressional Research Service...
Federal Retirement Claims Backlog Peaks at 65,237 in 2026
Federal retirement processing has deteriorated sharply in 2026, with a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report documenting a backlog crisis that...
House Panel Examines Fraud Claims in Homelessness Programs
The Trump administration is systematically dismantling the federal approach to homelessness, and a House subcommittee hearing on September 15 provided the...
GAO Finds Gaps in TRICARE Care for Special-Needs Families
Military families with special-needs dependents may face challenges accessing services through the TRICARE Extended Care Health Option (ECHO) program,...
Everything You Need to Know About the Earned Income Tax Credit
A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report updated September 14 explains the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and who receives it.
CRS Guide to Health Insurance Exchange Enrollment Data Sources
Health insurance exchange enrollment data sources differ in timing, coverage and definition. A new Congressional Research Services report says exchanges,...
USDA Section 32 Funds Farm Support, Child Nutrition Programs
USDA Section 32 channels customs receipts into agricultural support and child nutrition, putting the program’s statutory design alongside an unsettled...
Housing Trust Fund Faces Funding Limits Despite Strong Results
A persistent shortage of affordable rental housing for the nation's poorest households is the central tension underlying a Congressional Research Service...
Medicare and Medicaid Remain Central to U.S. Nursing Home Care
Medicaid and Medicare play outsized roles in funding and access to nursing home care in the United States. As of July, 14,693 long-term care facilities with...
House Panel Weighs State-Led Solutions to Child Care Shortage
With only 14 percent of eligible children currently served, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary...
Welfare Reform Hearing Reveals Divide Over Work Mandates
The House Subcommittee on Work and Welfare held a hearing September 1 examining the legacy of the 1996 welfare law and whether additional changes are needed...
Foster Adopt Connect Hires Penman Group to Lobby on Family Affairs
Foster Adopt Connect Inc., a Missouri- and Kansas-based foster care nonprofit, entered the federal lobbying arena for the first time this month. The...
Missouri Coalition Hires Penman Group for Budget Lobbying
Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence is a client of Penman Group LLC for lobbying purposes, and lobbies on Budget/Appropriations issues...
U.S. Maternal Mortality Rate Remains Above 2030 Target
The nation remains above its target for reducing pregnancy-related deaths, with persistent and widening racial disparities that underscore a critical gap in...