Winter 2011 In this issue 112th Congress Convenes Health Care Reform President Proposes to Eliminate Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Program Medicaid Update Hundreds Join BearNet Advocacy Network at NBC 4 Health & Fitness Expo Children’s National Advocates for All Children Edwin K. Zechman, Jr. President and Chief Executive Officer Jacqueline D. Bowens  Executive Vice President and Chief Government and External Affairs Officer Clare Kelly  Executive Director, Government and External Affairs Bill Quirk, Editor Manager, Government & Legal Affairs 112th Congress Convenes On January 5, 2011, the 1st Session of the 112th Congress convened with Republicans in control of the House of Representatives. House Republicans gained 63 seats in the 2010 mid-term elections, giving them a 242-member majority to the Democrats’ 193. Democrats retained their Senate majority, but by a lesser margin of 53 to 47. Read more... Health Care Reform In a largely symbolic and party-line vote, the House of Representatives voted on January 19 to repeal the recently enacted health reform law – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The House vote was the first step in the Republicans’ strategy to repeal or modify various provisions of the law in the coming months. As expected, the Republican drive to repeal the year-old health care law ended in party-line defeat in the Senate on February 2, by a vote of 47-51. Read more... President Proposes to Eliminate Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Program President Obama, in his fiscal year 2012 budget, proposes to eliminate funding for the Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME) program, which provides critical support to 56 freestanding children's hospitals in 30 states – including Children's National Medical Center – to support the training of pediatricians and other medical residents. Read more... Copyright 2011 by Children’s National Medical Center. All rights reserved. The bear logo and Children’s National Medical Center are registered trademarks. The names of the other organizations within the Children’s National Medical Center system are service marks of Children’s National Medical Center and/or its affiliates. A member of the Children’s Miracle Network Children’s does not discriminate on any grounds prohibited by applicable law, including race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin or ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, status as a disabled or Vietnam veteran or as a qualified disabled individual.