During U.S. Senate consideration of the "minibus" appropriations bill yesterday, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) offered S. 306, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2011 as an amendment. The amendment, which would authorize the creation of an independent National Criminal Justice Commission (NCJC), fell three votes short of the necessary 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.

Early last week, the Social Security Administration reported that Social Security recipients will see their benefits increase 3.6 percent in 2012, the first boost in two years, following a period of low inflation. The increase is likely to affect approximately 55 million recipients. Currently, the average monthly benefit is $1,082, and a 3.6 percent increase would mean $39 more in benefits each month, or an additional $468 per year.

On October 20, the administration substantially revised the rules regarding accountable care organizations (ACOs). Accountable care organizations are meant to handle care for patients across a full range of settings, including primary-care and specialist offices, hospitals, and nursing facilities in the hopes that it could reduce healthcare related expenditures. Administration officials estimated the program would reduce Medicare spending by up to $940 million over four years.

On October 20, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee announced that they will markup a two-year surface transportation authorization bill on November 9. Senate EPW Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ranking Member James Inhofe (R-OK) released an outline of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) authorization bill last July, which would maintain current funding levels plus inflation.

Last week, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) approved the Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act of 2011 on a bipartisan vote of 15-7. The committee reported that the bill would change several aspects of the current federal education law known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The bill would replace NCLB’s accountability system, adequate yearly progress (AYP), which applied sanctions to all schools not meeting performance targets, in favor of a federal focus on the lowest-performing schools in a state.

Later this week, HR 674, a bill that would repeal the 3 percent withholding requirement is slated for floor consideration. The bipartisan bill is sponsored by Representatives Wally Herger (R-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), and has 267 co-sponsors. The House has not yet announced how it will offset the lost revenue that would come with repealing the provision. One option under consideration is to modify the calculation of modified adjusted gross income for purposes of determining eligibility for certain healthcare-related programs.

There were reports last week that House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) is set to release sometime in the near future an overhaul of the corporate tax code from the current hybrid international system, in which most foreign earnings are taxed when they are moved into the U.S., to a territorial system similar to those that have been embraced by other advanced economies where such earnings are in most cases, taxed only locally.

Last week, it was reported that Senate and House leaders are becoming more directly involved with the Joint Select Committee (supercommittee) amid growing concern the panel's members could be deadlocked. As such, talks began between top aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-NV). The supercommittee also met with members of the Senate’s “Gang of Six,” which produced a deficit reduction plan earlier this year, although it failed to attract significant support.

Last week the Senate was unable to set up a final vote on a FY 2012 minibus appropriations package. However, after securing a unanimous consent agreement, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that a vote on final passage of the FY 2012 "minibus" appropriations package is scheduled for November 1 (H.R. 2112). The "minibus" includes FY2012 appropriations bills for the departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture and Commerce-Justice-Science.

On October 20, the Senate failed to advance, 50-50, an individual piece of the American Jobs Act, (S 1723), which would have provided $35 billion to state and local governments to preserve teacher and first responder jobs. The $35 billion would have been paid for via a 0.5 percent surtax on incomes over $1 million dollars. Earlier this month, the Senate failed to approve the entire $447 billion American Jobs Act. The Senate is scheduled to take up the infrastructure portion of the American Jobs Act in early November, as they are in recess this week.