Tag Archives: news

NASW applauds the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for their vote today to move forward the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), S. 815. ENDA is currently positioned to receive a vote by the Senate, which would be the first time the chamber has voted on the legislation in 17 years. During the serious economic down-turn in the United ... Read More »

NASW CEO Dr. Angelo McClain, and several staff members, recently attended a White House briefing, hosted by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) entitled “Addressing the Social Determinants of Health in a New Era: The Role of Social Work Education.” This event included four panels of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) staff and was held prior ... Read More »

On July 8, NASW met David Mineta, Deputy Director for Demand Reduction at the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).  Mr. Mineta was appointed by President Obama to oversee the Office of Demand Reduction (ODR) and is now working to implement evidenced-based drug policy reform initiatives aimed at the fostering development of a national community-based prevention system, ... Read More »

On July 11, we summarized the status of the House version of the Farm Bill.  Many Democrats opposed that version because the SNAP cuts were too severe in their view, while some Republicans objected because they believed the cuts were not severe enough.  Recently, consideration of this measure became even more contentious.  The House has indeed passed a Farm Bill ... Read More »

On Friday, June 21, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) certified the results of its 2013 National Elections. In accordance with the NASW Bylaws, NASW Board Secretary Lawanna Barron presented the results at the Annual Meeting of the Members in Washington D.C. On July 1, the NASW Board of Directors welcomed eight new members, including the President-Elect, and four ... Read More »

On February 12, the U.S. Senate passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) by a comfortable 78-22 margin.  The bill included comprehensive protections for Native American women, women in same-sex marriages, and illegal immigrants, features not included in the 2012 House version of the bill. Now, we are urging the House of Representatives to pass the same version of VAWA ... Read More »

On January 29, 2013 President Obama gave his “The Time is Now” speech which ushered in his administration’s Comprehensive Immigration Reform legislative initiative. A day earlier, a bipartisan group of four Republican and Four Democrats (the “gang of eight”) also announced that they will introduce comprehensive immigration legislation. Because the president received 70 percent of the Hispanic vote in November, ... Read More »

Today, NASW celebrates the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s special message to Congress regarding the state of mental health in the United States.  President Kennedy’s remarks brought the issue of stigma, and access to care, to the forefront of his domestic agenda.  As a result of this initiative, the Community Mental Health Centers Act was signed into law, ... Read More »

In the last two weeks NASW has participated in several activities in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy.  Last week, NASW CEO Betsy Clark participated in the White House meeting with mental health groups where she met with Vice President Biden’s Task Force.  Since then, NASW has remained engaged in ongoing efforts with the Obama Administration and the mental ... Read More »

Senator and Social Worker Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) has been named Chair of the Committee on Appropriations. She follows after Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) who died in December. Senator Mikulski will be the first woman to hold this powerful position, which reflects the growing representation of women on Capitol Hill. The Senate Committee on Appropriations is a standing committee which ... Read More »