This Week on the Hill
The House and Senate are in session this week and have three weeks remaining before the August recess, with a total of 7 legislative weeks left before the end of the fiscal year.
The House convenes Tuesday and will consider 12 bills under suspension of the rules, most of which relate to various public land issues, and H.R. 1492, which establishes a separate Drug Enforcement Agency registration for medical practitioners to transport and administer controlled substances in other states. For Wednesday and the balance of the week, the House will consider three bills related to human trafficking, a California water bill (H.R. 23), and the fiscal year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2810). Several committees scheduled hearings this week: the Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on states and the opioid crisis; the Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a hearing Thursday on state leadership of early childhood programs; and the Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing Thursday on tax reform and small businesses.
The Senate returns today and will vote on the confirmation of Neomi Rao to be administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget. Additional nominations are expected to be voted on during the remainder of the week. Several committees scheduled hearings this week: the Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on innovative infrastructure financing; and the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on combatting human trafficking.
Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Update
The Senate Appropriations Committee scheduled its first markup for the fiscal year 2018 budget this week: the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs Subcommittee will hold a markup on its spending bill on Wednesday, with the full Appropriations Committee scheduled to mark up the bill on Thursday.
The House Appropriations Committee has scheduled several markups this week. At the subcommittee level, the following bills are scheduled for markup: the Transportation-Housing and Urban Development bill on Tuesday; the Interior-Environment bill on Wednesday; and the Homeland Security bill on Wednesday. The full Appropriations Committee has scheduled markups for the Energy-Water and Agriculture bills on Wednesday.
Education Department Extends State Reporting Deadline for Per-Pupil Expenditures
In a letter to chief state school officers dated June 28, 2017, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would provide states with an additional year to comply with a new requirement under Title I, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to report per-pupil expenditures of federal, state and local funds (disaggregated by source) for each local education agency (LEA) and school for the prior fiscal year in annual report cards. The letter encourages states prepared to include this information on annual report cards for the 2017-2018 school year to still do so, but gives states the option to delay this reporting for one year. States that choose to delay reporting per-pupil expenditures must provide a brief description in their 2017-2018 report cards of the steps they are taking to ensure compliance beginning with reports cards for the 2018-2019 school year. The letter also outlines steps taken by the Department of Education to support state educational agencies (SEAs) and LEAs in implementing this new reporting requirement.
Labor Department Will Not Defend Overtime Pay Rule
On June 30, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it would not defend the rule finalized in 2016 under the Obama Administration to expand overtime pay to workers who earn an annual salary up to $47,476 – double the current minimum threshold. Twenty-one states had filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Eastern Texas in opposition to the regulation, and a U.S. District Judge ruled in November 2016 that DOL exceeded its authority with its focus on salaries, instead of the duties that employees perform in determining which workers are exempt from overtime requirements. DOL officials are still interested in the possibility of raising the current minimum salary, but not by as much. The Department submitted a request for public comment on a new salary threshold to the Office of Management and Budget, and Labor Department attorneys requested that the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals determine whether it is legal for the Department to set a salary level, without addressing the specific threshold established by the 2016 final rule.
Senators Reintroduce Bipartisan Energy Policy Bill
In late June, Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) reintroduced broad energy and natural resource policy legislation. The bipartisan bill, the Energy and Natural Resources Act of 2017, (S 1460) closely resembles the package that stalled in the last congressional session. The bill would expedite liquefied natural gas exports, implement energy efficiency programs, modernize the electric grid, permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, reauthorize the Weatherization Assistance and State Energy programs, and create a fund to address deferred maintenance at national parks. The bill is being fast-tracked, bypassing the committee markup process, and could come up for a floor vote as early as this month. It has been nearly a decade since Congress has approved a major energy package.
U.S. Department of Education Issues Initial Determinations to Five States for ESSA State Plans
On June 30, the U.S. Department of Education issued interim feedback letters for five (CT, LA, NJ, OR, TN) of the 17 states that submitted plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) by the April deadline. The initial determination letters share peer review feedback and identify areas where clarifying information or improvements are required to secure approval from the U.S. Secretary of Education. The five states receiving initial determinations last week are asked to resolve issues raised by the Department within 15 days of receipt of the letter in order for the Department to issue final determinations in writing within 120 days of the state’s plan submission. The remainder of states that submitted their plans in Window 1 will receive initial determinations over the month of July. All states must submit their ESSA plans for approval by September 18. The 17 state plan submissions and initial feedback letters are available here.
EPA Issues Final Rule Establishing WIFIA Fees
On June 28 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule in the Federal Register that establishes fees under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 (WIFIA). WIFIA authorizes EPA to provide secured loans and loan guarantees to eligible water infrastructure projects and to charge fees to recover all or a portion of the agency’s cost. The fees apply to entities seeking credit assistance under the WIFIA program for the development and construction of a water infrastructure project; a list of eligible entities can be found in EPA’s interim final rule and includes state governments and state infrastructure finance authorities. Fees established in the rule include a non-refundable application fee, a credit processing fee, a servicing fee and an optional supplemental fee. The effective date of the rule was June 28.
Interior Department Moves to Expedite Federal Oil and Gas Lease Sales and Permitting Process
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke signed a secretarial order calling on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to take steps to expedite federal oil and gas lease sales. The order also calls on BLM to make the permitting process more efficient and to address the backlog of pending Applications for Permit to Drill (APD). As of January 31, 2017, the BLM had 2,802 APDs pending, according to the press release. The order aims to meet the statutory target that BLM issue permits within 30 days of application and requires BLM to conduct quarterly lease sales.
States File Lawsuit Against Delay of Borrower Defense Rule
Last month, the U.S. Department of Education announced it was halting the “Borrower Defense Rule,” finalized by the Obama Administration, set to go into effect on July 1, 2017, which would have allowed borrowers from schools found to be fraudulent to have their federal student loans forgiven. Led by Massachusetts, 18 states and the District of Columbia filed a complaint on July 6 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against this decision to halt the rule, asking the court to lift the freeze. The Department is in the early stages of revising the rule, along with another Obama-era regulation on Gainful Employment. A group of private for-profit and nonprofit higher education institutions in California brought a lawsuit against the rule, which is pending a resolution. The Massachusetts Attorney General also led a coalition of nine attorneys general in filing a motion to intervene in the California case.
HHS Delays Effective Date for Home Health Agencies Regulation
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a delay of effective date in the Federal Register, delaying the effective date for the final rule entitled “Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Conditions of Participation for Home Health Agencies.” The original effective date for the rule was July 13, 2017, but based on comments requesting additional implementation time, the department delayed the effective date until January 13, 2018. The delay also includes two conforming changes to dates related to performance improvement projects and home health agency administrator standards. The final rule, as published in January 2017, can be found here.
HUD Awards $127 Million in Lead Based Paint Hazard Control Grants
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced the release of $127 million in grant awards to 48 state and local government agencies to keep families and children safe from lead-based paint and other home health and safety hazards. The award directs funds to cities, counties and states to eliminate lead paint and other housing-released health hazards in thousands of privately-owned, low-income housing units. According to the release, the grant funding will reduce the number of children with elevated blood lead levels, and protect nearly 7,600 families living in homes with significant health and safety hazards.
Recently Released Reports
A First Look at Alternative Investments and Public Pensions, Center for State & Local Government Excellence
State of Safety: A State-by-State Report, National Safety Council
Competency-Based Education, Education Commission of the States
Trends in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Rates: FY2010 to FY2015, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Changes in Opioid Prescribing in the U.S., 2006-2015, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Economic News
Economy Added 222,000 Jobs in June, Exceeding Expectations
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 222,000 jobs in June according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday, which was significantly more than economists had expected. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4.4 percent (compared to 4.3 percent the previous month). The labor force participation rate inched up 0.1 percentage point to 62.8 percent, and has shown no clear trend over the past year. Average hourly earnings for all private sector employees rose by 4 cents to $26.25, and have now risen by 63 cents or 2.5 percent over the year.
The private sector added a total of 187,000 jobs, led by growth in health care (+37,000) and social assistance (+23,000), professional and business services (+35,000), food services and drinking places (+29,000), financial activities (+17,000) and mining (+8,000). In the public sector, local governments added 35,000 jobs, while state governments reduced payrolls by 4,000 jobs and the federal government added 4,000 jobs. Upward revisions were also made to previous monthly data, with the job gains for April rising from 174,000 to 207,000 and for May increasing from 138,000 to 152,000. Over the past three months, job gains have averaged 194,000 per month.
Last week’s report showed that a broader measure of the unemployment rate, which includes the officially unemployed plus individuals who are not looking for work but want a job and those employed part-time for economic reasons, edged up by 0.2 percentage point to 8.6 percent. The number of long-term unemployed individuals (27 weeks or longer) was unchanged at 1.7 million, accounting for roughly 24.3 percent of the unemployed.