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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

VA Congressional Delegation Earns Poor Marks on Children's Issues

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Wednesday, February 27, 2008   

Richmond, VA - Virginia's Congressional delegation gets poor marks overall on children's issues, according to a Children's Defense Fund Action Council report released today. The non-partisan report rates members of both houses of Congress for their votes on a variety of legislation affecting children, including health care, education, and budget issues. It placed Virginia's delegation at 37th in the nation.

Mary Dunn Stewart with Voices for Virginia's Children says one big issue that Congress hasn't resolved is expanding S-CHIP, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which she says helps keep families afloat.

"Many child advocates would judge it as not successful, that they weren't able to re-authorize it and expand the program to the lower-income kids who really do need the health insurance."

Three Virginia congressmen earned perfect scores on the survey, but a majority were rated at 40 percent or below. Senator James Webb received a 90 percent rating, while Senator John Warner pulled a score of 60.

While Stewart worries that the war and the economy will dominate the upcoming election, she hope the political season will still provide a chance to spotlight children's issues.

"It's hard to know, but for us as child advocates, it's sort of our job to ensure that we remain on the agenda and that we are able to compete with the other interests, so I hope so."

Critics say the report doesn't take into account other factors that affect votes, like the cost to taxpayers. Overall, Congress scored better than last year.

The full report is at www.cdfactioncouncil.org.



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