Week Ending June 24, 2022
- AFSCME Supports the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
- Child Nutrition and CACFP
- Lowering Costs for Families
AFSCME Supports the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act
Congress has finally passed a gun safety bill and sent it to President Joe Biden for his signature. AFSCME has long supported commonsense measures to protect our communities from deadly firearms, including restrictions on the sale of guns to individuals who threaten the safety of our communities, expanded background checks, and increased investments in and better access to mental health services and substance use treatment. We support the creation of a school safety best practices clearinghouse; the hiring of more school resource officers; improving readiness training for teachers and school staff; and more.
Check out Sen. Chris Murphy’s (D-Conn.) speech introducing the bill below.
My speech tonight on the Senate floor, introducing our life saving bill - the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. pic.twitter.com/FEfKhJ6zrc
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 22, 2022
Child Nutrition and CACFP
Child nutrition programs, including the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), expire on June 30 and Republicans have opposed efforts to extend them. These waivers, which were put into COVID relief legislation, enabled flexibility for many child care and school meal requirements. In addition to removing tiering, we also need a rate increase for child care meals. These waivers have passed the House and Senate and will be signed into law shortly.
Lowering Costs for Families
White House officials, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) continue talks regarding what to include in a reconciliation bill to lower costs and ensure we can make transformational investments in public services, create good union jobs, raise revenues to pay for public investments, expand health care coverage, and much more. We can make significant investments in America’s physical and human infrastructure — to everything from refurbishing roads and bridges to expanding child care and home care to lowering the costs of prescription drugs to improving Medicare — all by keeping corporations and the wealthy accountable to paying their fair share.
Take action here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/pass-the-full-build-back-better-agenda