{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://gwenmoore.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5929", "Ways and Means Committee Advances Congresswoman Moore\u2019s Foster Youth Legislation", "2026-04-30", "2026", "2026-04", "Democrat", "House", "WI", "Gwen Moore", "M001160", "gwenmoore.house.gov", "gwenmoore", "https://gwenmoore.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "Yesterday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved the Foster Youth Housing Opportunity Act. Introduced with Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), this bipartisan legislation makes housing more accessible for foster youth by supporting better coordination between states and local services for housing vouchers, among other provisions.\n\nThe Committee also approved Congresswoman Moore\u2019s CONNECT Act, which directs the Chafee program to focus on helping foster youth develop healthy, supportive relationships with adults and highlights the role that supportive relationships can play in helping individuals succeed.\n\n\u201cToo many foster youth leave the system without adequate support and struggle with housing instability and homelessness. As I often say, you don\u2019t magically become an adult at age 18. We shouldn\u2019t expect this of foster youth. Serving as co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, I\u2019m working to ensure that youth leaving the foster care system have a safe, secure place to call home, so they can lead successful lives as adults. My legislation would give states the much-needed flexibility to help foster youth pay for security deposits and utility connection fees, among other critical supports,\u201d\n\nMy bill, the CONNECT Act, helps foster youth build a network of support. These positive relationships are critical to the wellbeing of young people, especially foster youth.\u201d said Congresswoman Moore.\n\nBackground:\n\nResearch shows that up to 46 percent of youth exiting foster care experience homelessness by age 26. Lack of stable housing is one of the biggest barriers to adulthood for transition-age foster youth.\n\nThe Foster Youth Housing Act clarifies that the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (Chafee) is intended to support access to housing for youth age 18 or older by strengthening coordination between federal housing and child welfare programs and providing greater flexibility for housing funds under the Chafee Program.", 1, "2026-05-01T06:06:26Z", "2026-05-01T06:08:22Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://gwenmoore.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5929"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.790563877671957, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}