From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is raising concerns about federal funding disruptions for the state’s Head Start child care and early education programs.
The Madison Dem recently sent letters to the acting secretaries of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Head Start program, which she calls a “critical lifeline” for families.
The move comes after the Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget issued a memo to pause “virtually all” federal grants and loans. Though that memo was later rescinded, Baldwin says eight Head Start programs in Wisconsin have still had issues accessing federal funding, leading to one center in Waukesha to close, impacting hundreds of families.
“It is clear that funding issues persisted even after the Administration attempted to backtrack on the OMB memo and clarify that it did not apply to Head Start programs and following federal court orders that blocked the implementation of the memo,” Baldwin wrote, adding she’s “deeply concerned” about the effects this uncertainty will have on Head Start staffing.
In the letter, Baldwin calls for a “full accounting” of directives that HHS and Head Start received from the administration both about the initial federal funding freeze and those received after the later developments; how many Head Start grant recipients had issues with accessing the payment management system and when those occurred; why users couldn’t access the system; and what resources could help avoid such issues going forward.
Read the full letter in the release below.
— Dem Attorney General Josh Kaul has joined 15 state attorneys general in supporting gender-affirming care — a response to President Donald Trump’s executive order.
“As state attorneys general, we stand firmly in support of healthcare policies that respect the dignity and rights of all people,” the statement read. “Health care decisions should be made by patients, families, and doctors, not by a politician trying to use his power to restrict your freedoms. Gender-affirming care is essential, life-saving medical treatment that supports individuals in living as their authentic selves.”
The statement cites Trump’s Jan. 28 executive order, which bans gender-affirming care and revokes federal funding from hospitals that do not comply. That order had included a directive to the states’ attorneys general to enforce the executive order.
The statement from the attorneys general though said that federal funding should still remain available to medical sites that provide gender-affirming care after a federal court last week blocked Trump’s federal funding freeze.
“State attorneys general will continue to enforce state laws that provide access to gender-affirming care, in states where such enforcement authority exists, and we will challenge any unlawful effort by the Trump Administration to restrict access to it in our jurisdictions,” the statement said.
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