• ACTION ALERT! U.S. House to Vote on Most Radical Pro-Abortion Bill Ever
• Legislature Passes FY 2022 Budget
• House Judiciary Committee Passes Vulnerable Child Abuse Prevention Bills

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote tomorrow - Friday, September 24th - on the  Women's Health Protection Act, H.R. 3755. This deceptively named bill would impose abortion on demand nationwide at any stage of pregnancy, eliminate widely supported pro-life laws at the federal, state, and local level, and force all Americans to support abortions here and abroad with their tax dollars. Please act now - contact your U.S. Representative and urge them to oppose this extreme legislation.

The legislature and governor reached agreement last week on a budget deal for Fiscal Year 2022.  While the governor is expected to veto some appropriations and legislative language, all parties were generally pleased to have a spending plan in place prior to the October 1 fiscal year start.  Nearly $70 billion was contained in Senate Bill 82 which funds most state programs and departments.  Items of interest to MCC included:

• $3 million for dual enrollment of nonpublic high school students in college courses.
• $1.5 million for grants to pregnancy resource centers which provide alternatives to abortion, and   $250,000 for grants to infant and toddler diaper assistance programs. Also included is $700,000 to reinstate the previous Pregnancy and Parenting Support Services Program, which assisted pregnant women and their babies with counseling, prenatal health information, parenting education and necessary care items, such as clothing, diapers, and formula.
• A $9 increase to the administrative rate for private agency foster care providers, raising the rate to not less than $55.20, along with boilerplate language directing the department to explore allowing foster care maintenance payments to continue throughout a child's adoption process.
• A $3 increase for private agency adoption per diem rates, as well as $10 million for a marketing program to promote infant adoption as an alternative to abortion.
• $500,000 for one-time human trafficking victim services, $170,000 to fund the human trafficking commission, and an annual $200,000 for human trafficking intervention services is again included.
• $800,000 to allow emergency shelter programs to increase the per diem for homeless shelters to $19 per bed night.
• $29.1 million for the implementation of the Raise the Age program, which requires that most seventeen-year-old offenders be adjudicated in the juvenile justice system rather than through the adult court system.
• Funding to maintain the Heat and Eat program, which utilizes low-income energy assistance to help individuals in need qualify for additional food assistance from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
• $7.23 million to maintain the annual clothing allowance for low-income children in the Family Independence Program.
• A number of pro-life boilerplate provisions, including language that reiterates it is state policy not to contract with organizations that provide abortion, and that state money is not to be used for abortion counseling, referrals, or services.

The Higher Education Budget, House Bill 4400, contained $2.2 billion in spending.  Items of interest to MCC included:

• $68.8 million for the Tuition Incentive Program and $42 million for the Tuition Grant program, which assist low income students attend private colleges and universities.
• The retention of language requiring universities conducting research using human embryonic stem cells to report to the Department of Health and Human Services regarding their compliance with federal stem cell research guidelines.
• $500,000 for universities to establish and operate a Pregnant and Parenting Student Services Office.

The House Judiciary Committee passed House Bills 4071 and 4072 this week, which were amended to increase penalties for child care or health professionals who abuse vulnerable children under their care. The bills define the term "vulnerable child" as an individual under the age of eighteen with a developmental disability, mental illness, physical disability, or who is nonverbal. The bills now move to the House Floor for further consideration.  MCC supports the measures and appreciates Representatives Bronna Kahle (R-Adrian) and Julie Calley (R-Portland) for their leadership on this issue.

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