Budget Blog

September 12, 2016 - Washington Report

By Leah Wavrunek posted 09-13-2016 03:57 PM

  

This Week on the Hill

The House and Senate are both in session this week as work continues on a fiscal year 2017 funding agreement that could include Zika funds.

The House returns today and will consider 19 bills under suspension of the rules, including a bill dealing with online ticket sales (H.R. 5104) and a bill addressing negative online reviews of businesses (H.R. 5111). On Tuesday the House will consider two bills under suspension rules, including H.R. 5587, which reauthorizes the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education programs through fiscal year 2022; the House will also begin consideration of H.R. 5620, the Veterans Affairs Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act. For Wednesday and the balance of the week, the House will consider a bill (H.R. 5226) related to federal regulatory actions in addition to H.R. 5351, which prohibits the transfer or release of any detainee from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into the U.S. or any foreign country or entity. Several committees have scheduled hearings for the week: the Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on the SNAP program; the Science, Space and Technology Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on protecting the 2016 election from cyber attacks, and the Education and Workforce Committee will hold a markup Wednesday on H.R. 5963, the Supporting Youth Opportunity and Preventing Delinquency Act of 2016.

The Senate also returns today and will continue consideration of the Water Resources Development Act (S. 2848), with a cloture vote on the manager’s package expected this evening. The final vote on WRDA could take place by midweek. The bill authorizes $9.4 billion in waterways projects and includes $220 million for Flint, Michigan and other cities with emergency drinking water problems. Several committees have scheduled hearings for the week: the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee will hold a hearing Thursday on the state of health insurance markets; and the Agriculture Committee will hold a business meeting Tuesday on a wildfire bill (H.R. 2647).

 

Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Update

Negotiations continue on options to fund the government after September 30. The President is meeting with Republican and Democratic leaders of both chambers today to discuss legislative priorities, including the fiscal year 2017 spending measure. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has indicated his preference for a continuing resolution (CR) that runs through December 9, which would then set up another bill to fund agencies (most likely an omnibus) for the remaining nine months of the fiscal year. The Senate may move first on the CR, releasing a plan this week, and could then subsequently adjourn even though they are scheduled to be in session through October 7. The House is still discussing funding options, although Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has brought up a short-term CR followed by several smaller funding bills or packages known as “minibuses” as his members have increasingly voiced opposition to an omnibus.

 

Zika Vote Fails Again, May Be Combined with Budget CR

Last Tuesday the Senate again rejected, 52-46, a motion to end debate on the bill (H.R. 2577) that would provide $1.1 billion in aid to combat the Zika virus, in addition to $82.5 billion for the fiscal year 2017 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs spending bill. Senate Democrats have objected to policy provisions included in the bill as well as the lower funding level (the President had earlier requested $1.9 billion in emergency spending on Zika response efforts). It is widely believed a Zika funding bill may be attached to a continuing resolution to keep the federal government running after September 30. Also addressing states’ needs in relation to Zika, the National Governors Association published an op-ed urging Congress to pass a bill.

 

DOT Awards $759 Million in FASTLANE Grants

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced 18 infrastructure projects in 15 states and the District of Columbia that will receive $759 million in federal grants as part of the new Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) program. The program was established under last year’s transportation reauthorization bill, the FAST Act, to provide funding for critical freight and highway investments to improve the movement of goods and reduce congestion; the program will be administered by the newly-launched Build America Bureau.

 

EPA Finalizes Updates to Cross-State Air Pollution Rule

On September 7 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized an update to the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSPAR) to reduce summertime nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants in 22 states in the eastern U.S. According to the EPA, the rule will reduce air quality impacts of ozone pollution that crosses state lines and will help downwind areas meet and maintain the 2008 ozone air quality standard; these reductions can be met using already installed and cost-effective control technologies and other readily available approaches at affected sources. In 2017, the rule is estimated to help cut ozone season nitrogen oxide emissions by 80,000 tons, or a 20 percent reduction from 2015 levels. This rule is separate from the Clean Power Plan, which requires states to develop plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from new and existing power plants. The CSPAR rule update can be found here and additional information can be found here.

 

FDA Awards $21.8 Million to States for Produce Rule Implementation

Last week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the awarding of $21.8 million to support 42 states in implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act produce safety rule. As part of implementing the act, FDA established science-based minimum standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing and holding of fruits and vegetables grown for human consumption, as outlined in the produce safety rule. Through a cooperative agreement, the FDA and states will provide awardees with the resources to formulate a multi-year plan to implement a produce safety system, develop and provide education, outreach and technical assistance, and develop programs to address the unique needs of their farming communities. Award applicants were classified into five tiers of funding eligibility based on the estimated number of farms growing covered produce. A list of award amounts by state can be found here and additional information on the cooperative agreement program can be found here.

 

Administration Releases Guidance on School Safety Officers

The Departments of Education and Justice released new tools to assist states, schools and their law enforcement partners in assessing the proper role of school resource officers (SROs) and campus law enforcement professionals. The tools are intended to help these entities responsibly incorporate SROs into the learning environment when the decision is made at the local level to use SROs. The tools include letters from Education and Justice related to campus policing and secondary and elementary school use of SROs, as well as state and local policy rubrics and a local implementation rubric. The state and local policy rubric is designed to provide information for states and local governments looking to develop or revise statutes, regulations and written agreements related to incorporation of SROs into school learning environments to help prevent unnecessary or inappropriate arrests, referrals to law enforcement, contact with the juvenile justice system, and violations of civil rights laws.

 

Recently Released Reports

Rising U.S. State Post-Employment Benefit Liabilities Signal an Unsustainable Trend, S&P Global

Financial Alignment Initiative Annual Report: Washington Health Homes MFFS Demonstration, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation

The Status of Funding for Zika: The President's Request and Congressional Proposals, Kaiser Family Foundation

Coordinating Access to Services for Justice-Involved Populations, Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc.

Health Insurance Coverage: Early Release of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January-March 2016, National Center for Health Statistics

 

Economic News

Job Openings Increase to 5.9 Million in July

The number of job openings increased to 5.9 million on the last business day of July, according to data recently released by the U.S. Department of Labor (up from 5.6 million in June). Job openings increased in July for professional and business services (+243,000), durable goods manufacturing (+27,000), construction (+27,000) and leisure and hospitality (+22,000) but decreased in health care and social assistance (-63,000). The number of hires was little changed at 5.2 million in July and the hires rate was unchanged at 3.6 percent. The number of separations was little changed at 4.9 million. The 3.0 million quits reported in July were up slightly from 2.9 million in June; many economists closely watch the number of quits as a measure of employee confidence in finding another job. Finally, layoffs and discharges were unchanged at 1.6 million. Over the 12 months ending in July 2016, hires totaled 62.5 million and separations totaled 60.0 million, yielding a net employment gain of 2.5 million.