Melania Trump Tells Senate Spouses It’s Their ‘Moral Obligation’ to Urge Passage of Proposed Foster Care Act
The House unanimously passed the bill earlier this week.
First Lady Melania Trump appealed to lawmakers and their spouses this week to help push the Fostering the Future Act—legislation with a series of foster care reforms—through the Senate.
“If every one of your states gets involved to support our foster care community, we can accelerate our vision to protect these individuals and set them on a pathway to shine,” the first lady said at the 2026 United States Senate Spouses Luncheon in Washington, D.C. “I consider this your moral obligation.”
Last month, the Ways and Means Committee advanced six bills that would modernize the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (“Chafee”), the nation’s program exclusively for the 20,000 youth who age out of the foster care system each year.
The proposed legislation aligns with Mrs. Trump’s Fostering the Future initiative she established in 2021 to provide individuals in the foster care community with access to education at the university level and President Trump’s Fostering the Future for American Children and Families Executive Order.
“Somewhere on the edge of your town, within your very own community, a young child is praying for help. We have all heard these heartbreaking stories. A child is neglected behind closed doors and lives without the safety and stability that every kid deserves,” Mrs. Trump said in her remarks. “Their parents are overcome by addiction. The child is vulnerable to harm and abuse.”
And during the Congressional Picnic this week, Mrs. Trump praised House legislators’ bipartisan efforts in support of the reforms.
“I have seen firsthand how much can be accomplished when Republicans and Democrats come together with a shared purpose, particularly for the betterment of our children,” she said, pointing to another bipartisan success with the Take It Down Act.
“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,”said Darin LaHood, an Illinois congressman and Chairman of the Ways and Means Work and Welfare Subcommittee, in a statement. “This bipartisan legislation ensures that federal resources make it to those that need them most, and expands access to education, housing, and workforce training for foster youth to assist in their transition to adulthood.”
The proposed bills aimed at supporting young people aging out of foster care improve housing access for youth aging out of foster care, increase education vouchers to $12,000 per student annually, require user-friendly applications and improve awareness of resources, include short-term workforce and vocational training, improve access to legal services, provide support for parents and expectant parents, and update the Chafee program purpose to include establishing meaningful connections with adults and other lifelong support networks.
The Weekly Wrap
The Weekly Wrap is a collection of headlines from the past week. Some publications have paywalls.
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