Roberta Heine
Blog Post List
October 17, 2012
Get 'em while they're young. You'll often hear us saying that the early years are when we can make the biggest impact in a child's development. That's why encouraging breastfeeding is so important. The benefits of nursing are numerous: children become healthier, more resistant to disease and less at risk of SIDS or later obesity. Breastfeeding may also protect babies from developing allergies and lead to higher IQs. For mothers, there's even a reduction in risk for postpartum depression and certain cancers. Clearly, then, encouraging breastfeeding is another area where attention in the early...
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November 17, 2011
“Think of the debt we’re leaving the next generation,” deficit hawks will often remark. Yet sometimes the cuts they propose are our most important investments in the next generation. We need to make sure that when we balance the budget, we're not leaving behind a different kind of a debt: a human deficit. Next week the congressional “super committee” faces a deadline to reduce the deficit by more than $1 trillion. This is a critical time to tell Congress to protect the programs that protect kids. Everything from Pell Grants to food stamps could be affected unless we act. You can use our new...
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August 3, 2011
Along the stately halls of Capitol Hill offices, which house the work of the world's greatest deliberative body, are a few rooms with nicknames like the Lactation Station, the Milk Factory, and the Boob Cube. These are the lactation rooms for many of the nursing mothers of national politics, where everyone observes an unspoken rule: no politics allowed. As the New York Times revealed in a profile earlier this year, the Capitol and its offices provide several private spaces for nursing mothers, measures encouraged by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. We think it's great that Capitol workers...
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July 22, 2011
It seems every few days someone in Washington has a new plan, commission or deal to cut trillions from the federal budget. But these discussions are always about the dollar amounts cut, not the families cut off from services as a result. As policymakers ponder vast changes in how the government collects and spends money, someone needs to tell them to remember to protect support for children and families. With the Voices for America's Children Facebook app, that person can be you ! Simply enter your zip code and the app identifies your representatives in Congress. From there you can write on...
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July 8, 2011
It's wrong, and ultimately ineffective, to balance the budget by cutting federal support ofhealth care. Both the House and White House budget proposals include cuts to Medicaidand Children's Health Insurance - but these programs should not be on the negotiating table. Cuts to Medicaid will cause millions to lose coverage, making health costs rise nationwide. Medicaid cuts will also cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, making things worse forfamilies and the government debt alike. Ultimately, while these cuts may look attractive to budget hawks, all they do is intensify the economic storm...
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June 9, 2011
This week is the 10-year anniversary of the Bush-era tax cuts for the nation’s wealthiest households. In 2012 alone, the extension of these cuts will cost taxpayers an estimated $20 billion. In stark contrast to these tax cuts to the rich are the terrible sacrifices we’re now demanding of the poor. The House is now considering slashing funding to the WIC nutrition program, which could end food assistance for up to 475,000 children and mothers . Just 4 percent of the money we’re giving to just the top earners through the Bush tax cuts could prevent the freeze out to these vulnerable families...
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March 17, 2011
Very soon Congress will decide on a budget that could make painful, dangerous cuts to services for children. While Congress calls this spending "discretionary," it's actually very mandatory for the many families still struggling from the recession. We're talking about the important stuff: child care, early education, nutrition and more. Among the proposed cuts is a $1 billion slash to Head Start, which could take away quality care for more than 218,000 children. Other federal cuts could mean as many as 150,000 families losing child care assistance. In all, there is more than $60 billion in...
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