This Week on the Hill
The House and Senate are adjourned until the week of November 14.
Department of Education Releases Final Teacher Preparation Regulations
Last week the U.S. Department of Education (ED) published final teacher preparation regulations that require new reporting by states about program effectiveness. The final regulations aim to improve transparency around the effectiveness of all preparation programs (traditional, alternative routes, and distance) by requiring states to report annually, at the program level, on several measures including placement and retention rates of graduates in their first three years of teaching; feedback on effectiveness of program preparation; student learning outcomes; and other program characteristics. States will have flexibility on whether to report on additional measures and how to weight all outcome measures but will be required to categorize program effectiveness using at least three levels of performance (effective, at-risk, and low-performing); states must provide technical assistance to any program rated as low-performing to help it improve. States will design their reporting system, in consultation with stakeholders, during the 2016-17 academic year and may choose to use 2017-18 as a pilot year, with full implementation in 2018-19. Under the regulations, TEACH grants will be limited to programs that states determine to be effective for at least two of the previous three years, and programs might lose TEACH grant eligibility beginning in 2021-22. The department plans to release non-regulatory guidance for states and districts on teacher preparation soon, to provide additional support and clarity.
New Report Shows Medicaid Enrollment and Spending Growth
The Kaiser Family Foundation released an issue brief last week detailing Medicaid enrollment and spending growth for fiscal years 2016 and 2017, with findings drawn from the 16th annual budget survey of Medicaid officials. Key findings of the brief include: after significant increases in fiscal year 2015 primarily due to the implementation of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, enrollment and total spending growth slowed substantially in fiscal year 2016 and are projected to slow in fiscal year 2017; Medicaid officials identified the high costs of specialty drugs and payment increases for specific provider groups as upward spending pressures; and adopted state budgets for fiscal year 2017 project an uptick in state Medicaid spending primarily due to the phase-down in the federal share for the expansion population from 100 percent to 95 percent. In conjunction with this issue brief, the foundation also released an issue brief that takes an in-depth look at four states (Maryland, Montana, New York and Oklahoma) as well as a report on policy changes implemented in state Medicaid programs in fiscal year 2016 and changes planned for fiscal year 2017.
Administration Update Lowers Fiscal Year 2016 Deficit
In a joint statement issued last week, the Treasury Department and Office of Management and Budget released details of the fiscal year 2016 final budget results, which showed the deficit at $587 billion, or $28 billion less than forecast in the President’s fiscal year 2017 budget and $12 billion less than forecast in the fiscal year 2017 Mid-Session Review. As a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the deficit was 3.2 percent, about two-thirds lower than the deficit in fiscal year 2009 and equal to the average of the last 40 years. The fiscal year 2016 deficit of $587 billion is an increase of $148 billion from the prior year, as outlays rose by 5 percent from fiscal year 2015 while receipts rose by less than 1 percent. Government receipts totaled $3.3 trillion in fiscal year 2016, while outlays totaled almost $3.9 trillion. Contributing to the dollar increase over the prior year was higher spending for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and interest on the public debt.
$500 Million in Flood Aid Distributed to Three States
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $500 million to Louisiana, Texas and West Virginia to help with recovery after severe flooding events that occurred earlier this year. The funds are provided through the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery Program, which were included in the continuing resolution signed by the President on September 29. The bill directed HUD to allocate $500 million “in the most impacted and distressed areas” that experienced presidentially declared disasters in 2016, but prior to September 29. HUD awarded the following disaster recovery funds based on each state’s proportional share of serious unmet housing needs: Louisiana ($437,800,000), Texas ($45,200,000), and West Virginia ($17,000,000). HUD will publish a notice in the Federal Register which will define the criteria for the use of the funds. In general, disaster recovery grants can support a wide variety of activities including housing redevelopment, business assistance and infrastructure repair.
DOT Releases Funds to Study Technology Advancements
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced nearly $65 million in grants to support advanced technology transportation projects. Under the Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment program, $56.6 million was awarded to eight grantees across the country to help demonstrate how emerging transportation technologies, data, and their applications can be effectively deployed and integrated with existing systems to provide access to essential services and other destinations. Projects include a freight efficiency corridor, efforts to reduce truck congestion and fuel usage, implementation of connected vehicle technologies, improving connections between isolated neighborhoods, dynamic tolling, and expanding person-trip capacity. Under the MOD Sandbox Program, $8 million was awarded as part of a larger research effort to support transit agencies and communities as they integrate new mobility tools to help make transportation systems more efficient and accessible.
Energy Administration Releases Latest Short-Term Energy Outlook
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its latest short-term energy outlook, which projects average household expenditures for natural gas, heating oil, electricity, and propane will increase this winter compared with last winter. However, expenditures for heating oil and propane this winter are forecast to be lower than the average of the five winters prior to last winter. U.S. crude oil production averaged 9.4 million barrels per day in 2015 and it is forecast to average 8.7 million barrels per day in 2016 and 8.6 million barrels per day in 2017. Retail gasoline prices are forecast to average $2.12 a gallon in 2016 and $2.26 a gallon in 2017.
Administration Releases Voluntary Consensus Guidelines for Adult Protective Services Systems
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living (ACL) released final voluntary consensus guidelines for state Adult Protective Services (APS) systems. APS is a social services program provided by state and local governments nationwide serving older adults and adults with disabilities who are in need of assistance because of adult maltreatment. Historically, there has been no federal “home” for APS nor a designated federal appropriation; instead states and local agencies have developed a wide variety of APS practices, resulting in significant variations. These consensus guidelines are one part of a strategy that ACL believes is needed to develop an effective network of APS systems across the nation. These guidelines are voluntary and do not constitute a standard or regulation and do not create any new legal obligations, mandates or requirements.
Recently Released Reports
City Fiscal Conditions 2016, National League of Cities
The State of County Finances: Progress Through Adversity, National Association of Counties
The Relationship between Medicaid Financing and Provider Payment Policies, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
Mission Not Accomplished: Teen Safe Driving, the Next Chapter, Governors Highway Safety Association
The State of American Jobs, Pew Research Center
Economic News
Job Openings Decrease to 5.4 Million in August
The number of job openings decreased to 5.4 million on the last business day of August, according to data recently released by the U.S. Department of Labor (down from 5.9 million in July). Job openings decreased in August for professional and business services (-223,000), durable goods manufacturing (-29,000), construction (-41,000) and government (-39,000) but increased in information (+11,000). The number of hires was little changed at 5.2 million in August and the hires rate was unchanged at 3.6 percent. The number of separations was little changed at 5.0 million. The 3.0 million quits reported in August were unchanged from July; 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 August 2016, hires totaled 62.7 million and separations totaled 60.1 million, yielding a net employment gain of 2.6 million.