The U.S. House on Tuesday unanimously passed Melania Trump’s foster care initiative, and now the first lady is calling on senators to follow suit and pass the long-awaited reform.
At an annual charity luncheon Wednesday afternoon, Trump urged Senate members and their spouses to consider it their “moral obligation” to support foster care in their communities.
“It is especially fitting that we are together today, because your spouses—America’s senators—now have the opportunity to turn this momentum into permanent legislation to protect our foster care community. Inspire them!” the first lady said of the Fostering the Future Act.
Trump announced the news of the act’s passage at the Congressional Picnic on the South Lawn of the White House Tuesday night.
The Fostering the Future Act
The Fostering the Future Act is comprised of several bills introduced with bipartisan support in the House and Senate.
The legislation aims to amend the Social Security Act by strengthening federal housing programs and expanding both access to legal services and education vouchers for short-term workforce training. The bill updates the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood for the first time since its creation in 1999.
“We’re very thankful for House leadership and the House Ways and Means Committee for working bipartisanly to pass this,” a spokesperson for the first lady’s office told the Daily Signal.
“The first lady strongly supports new foster care legislation to protect and support foster youth. So, we’re very happy with the House bill, but we look forward to seeing what the Senate works on, whether it’s the same bill or a different bill.”
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., previously introduced one of the bipartisan bills whose text was included.
“One of the greatest gifts that we can give our children is the opportunity to succeed, and this bill will help set our foster youth up for success by increasing access to education and workforce training needed to build a career,” Daines told the Daily Signal.
The first lady made a rare trip to Capitol Hill in April, where she addressed members of the House Ways and Means Committee and urged Congress to put her foster care initiatives into law. After hearing testimony from children in the foster care system, lawmakers followed through.
“As chairman of the Ways and Means Work and Welfare Subcommittee, I have been proud to work alongside the first lady and my colleagues over the last year to develop and introduce the first comprehensive reforms to the Chafee program since 1999,” Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., said in a press release.
Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., said, “This legislation will help ensure young people in the foster care program are given a fair shot on their path to self-sufficiency and work to achieve a brighter, more independent future.”
