Congresswoman Susan Davis Named a 2014 Defender of Children for her Work on Behalf of Children

Press Release

Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) was named a 2014 Defender of Children. First Focus Campaign for Children recognized Davis for her work in Congress to create policies that improve the well-being of children.

"We have a responsibility to bring our children up in a caring and supportive environment that gives them the best chance at success in the future," said Davis. "I am honored by this recognition and thank First Focus Campaign for Children for all they do for our kids. The future of America depends on the future of our children. We must continue to make them a priority."

In Congress, Davis leads the way when it comes to fighting for our children. She has introduced numerous bills to protect children and give them a leg up for a successful future:

During the summer break from school, many children often lose access to their free or reduce-priced meals making hunger an unnecessary part of their summer months. To close this gap, Davis introduced the Stop Child Summer Hunger Act that would expand a pilot program currently providing families with eligible children free and reduce-priced school meals through an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card. In San Diego County, over 219,000 children qualify for free and reduce-priced school meals.

The EARLY Act (Expanded Access to Real Learning for our Young Act) would establish a competitive grant program where states could receive federal funding to make Pre-K education available to families with a combined income of up to 400% of the federal poverty line.

In May 2014, House passed bipartisan legislation - Strengthening Education through Research Act (H.R. 4366) - to improve research on education programs and ensure those programs are effective in meeting national education priorities. H.R. 4366 includes language from a bill carried by Davis to help schools integrate social and emotional learning (SEL). The provision from Davis' The Supporting Emotional Learning (SEL) Act (H.R. 4509) would make SEL a topic for educational research.

The Helping Military Children Succeed in School Act would create a military student identifier to provide the data needed to address the diverse issues facing children in military families - such as frequent moves and parental deployments - which can pose serious challenges in their schooling. This data would then help educators identify areas of concern, develop best practices, and deploy targeted solutions to help military-connected student succeed.

Davis also continues to focus on expanding health care coverage for children, creating a world-class education system, and increasing access to childcare.

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