On February 26, the Obama Administration released its federal budget request for the 2010 fiscal year.  The ambitious budget signals a new national commitment to children, families and America's future.  The budget request makes clear that the Administration understands that investing in children now will ensure a more stable economy and a healthier, more competitive workforce for the future.

Overall, the budget request makes a down payment to ensure that everyone in America has access to comprehensive, affordable healthcare.  It also takes important steps to better the lives of children and families by making permanent some of the improvements included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—such as expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, Head Start, and quality child care programs.  Additionally, the budget carves out a reliable funding stream by closing corporate tax loopholes and ensuring that every taxpayer and corporation pays their fair share for American prosperity.

While a more detailed budget request will come out in April, below are some highlights from the President’s budget request:

Major Investments in Health

• "Down payment" on health reform: The budget establishes a reserve fund of more than $630 billion over 10 years to ensure that everyone in America, including every child, has access to comprehensive, affordable coverage. 

Read more about CDF's work on Children's Health.

Expansion of Tax Credits for Middle- and Lower-Income Families

• Tax credit extensions: The budget makes several expansions in important tax credits for low- and middle-income families permanent. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act- the economic recovery package signed into law in February – increased the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for families with 3 or more children, expanded the Child Tax Credit to low-income families, and created the “Making Work Pay” credit for workers.  These permanent expansions are critical investments in working families.

Read more about CDF's work on Tax & Benefits Outreach.

Stronger Early Childhood Development Programs

• Head Start and Child Care: The budget request builds on investments in the recovery bill for Head Start, Early Head Start, and the Child Care and Development Block Grant so that children from low-income families can be ready to learn when they arrive at school, and working parents can get and keep jobs.
• Nurse Home Visitation program: This new program for at-risk first-time parents is proposed to help improve child health, decrease abuse, and increase family stability.

Read more about CDF's work in Early Childhood Education and Child Care.

Investments in Education

• Assistance for students to attend and complete college: The Administration proposal creates a five-year, $2.5 billion “Access and Completion Incentive Fund” to support state innovations to help low-income students complete college.  It substantially puts the Pell Grant program on stronger footing by indexing grants so that they can keep up with rising education costs. Finally, the budget proposes to makes the new “American Opportunity” tax credit – a partially refundable $2,500 credit to help students pay for college that was included in the recovery bill – permanent.
• Incentives for education innovation and teacher performance:  The Administration proposes the creation of an Innovation Fund to provide grants for innovative education programs, and the budget builds on teacher incentive grants in the recovery bill to increase teacher and principal performance.

Read more about CDF's work in Education.

Other Investments in Children and Families

• Child nutrition: The budget proposes $1 billion per year for the reauthorization of critical child nutrition programs, as well as full funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC.)  These funding priorities will take an important step forward towards the President’s pledge to end childhood hunger by 2015. 
• Unemployment benefits: The proposed budget modernizes the Unemployment Insurance program to make it more responsive and effective when workers lose their jobs.
• Teen pregnancy prevention: Funding to prevent teen pregnancy is included in the budget, using evidence-based models that stress abstinence while providing medically accurate information.
• Home energy assistance for low-income families: The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) receives a proposed funding increase of $3.2 billion, and includes a new trigger to provide an automatic increase when energy costs spike.