This Week on the Hill
The House has postponed votes until Tuesday due to Hurricane Irma and schedules may continue to change. Currently, the chamber is set to consider several bills under suspension of the rules that mostly relate to homeland security. The House will also finish work on the fiscal year 2018 appropriations bills and will consider H.R. 3697, which makes it easier to deport criminal gang members. Several committees scheduled hearings this week: the Judiciary Committee scheduled a hearing for Tuesday on occupational licensing regulation and competition and the Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on FDA’s regulation of over-the-counter drugs.
The Senate convenes today and resumes consideration of the motion to proceed to a fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill; the chamber is expected to spend most of the week on the authorization bill. Several committees scheduled hearings this week, with a focus on health care: the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday with health insurance and industry experts and a hearing on Thursday with health care provider representatives about market stabilization options while the Finance Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on issues affecting health care cost and coverage.
Congress Passes CR, Debt Limit Suspension and Harvey Relief Package
Last week Congress passed and the President signed legislation (H.R. 601) that extends current year funding levels to December 8, extends the National Flood Insurance Program to that date, extends the debt limit, and funds an initial amount for Hurricane Harvey disaster relief. The Senate voted 80-17 and the House voted 316-90 for the $15.25 billion package that includes $7.4 billion for FEMA, $7.4 billion for Community Development Block Grants and $450 million for the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program. The package also includes a provision to cover an estimated $300 million shortfall in the U.S. Forest Service’s wildfire suppression efforts for fiscal 2017. President Trump signed the bill on Friday. The bill did not extend other programs whose authorizations expire on September 30, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Update
Although Congress approved a continuing resolution to keep the government funded through December 8, the House continues work on fiscal 2018 appropriation bills. In July the chamber approved a four-bill “security” minibus, covering four of the twelve appropriations bills; last week they began working through over 300 amendments for the remaining eight bills covering Agriculture, Homeland Security, State-Foreign Operations, Transportation-HUD, Commerce-Justice-Science, Financial Services, Interior-Environment, and Labor-HHS-Education. That legislation, H.R. 3554, will be considered this week after the House returns. On the Senate side, last week the Appropriations Committee approved two appropriations bills: a $51.4 billion bill covering State-Foreign Operations and a Labor-HHS-Education bill that allocates $164.1 billion in discretionary funding. The Labor-HHS-Education bill spends $3 billion more than the final fiscal year 2017 bill and is $27.5 billion above the President’s request. The Senate has not scheduled any further appropriations work for this week.
Senate Finance Committee Holds Hearing on CHIP
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) convened a hearing on Thursday to discuss the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). In Senator Hatch’s opening statement, he addressed whether the committee would want to reauthorize or merely extend CHIP, the appropriate length for the extension, and whether to continue with the 23 percent increase in federal matching for CHIP provided under the Affordable Care Act and extended in 2015. Anne Schwartz, Executive Director of the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), was one of the witnesses at the hearing. Ms. Schwartz stated that under current law CHIP is funded through fiscal year 2017 and MACPAC projects that four states will exhaust available federal funds in the first quarter of FY 2018 while another 27 will do so in the second quarter if funding is not extended. A new issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation looks at the current status of state planning for the future of CHIP.
House Passes Legislation Regulating Self-Driving Vehicles
Last week the House approved by voice vote H.R. 3388, the SELF DRIVE Act, which is aimed at creating a national framework for the regulation of self-driving cars. The bill would improve the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) access to safety data for future updates and development of safety standards, requires the submission of safety assessment certifications by manufacturers of self-driving cars, and clarifies state and federal roles with respect to self-driving cars. Under the legislation, NHTSA would be in charge of regulating self-driving car safety and preempt competing rules at the state level. A group of organizations representing states sent a letter to House leadership highlighting concerns with the bill related to the expansion of federal preemption and state and federal government cooperation. Additional information on the bill can be found here. On Tuesday Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is expected to unveil guidelines for manufacturing self-driving vehicles.
Secretary DeVos Delivers Remarks on Campus Sexual Assault Changes
Last week Education Secretary Betsy DeVos delivered remarks announcing the department would rewrite Obama administration rules related to campus sexual assault. In her remarks, Secretary DeVos indicated her belief that the previous administration had gone too far and established a burdensome system, saying “Washington has burdened schools with increasingly elaborate and confusing guidelines that even lawyers find difficult to understand and navigate.” The changes would most likely be aimed at a 2011 guidance letter from the Education Department to college officials, requiring a tougher response to campus sexual assault accusations under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, and warning the colleges that federal funding could be at risk if schools are found noncompliant. The timing and details of possible changes are not known at this time.
Federal Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking Releases Final Report
The Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking released its final report and recommendations last Thursday, as required by the Evidence-Based Policymaking Commission Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-140). Under the law, the Commission’s charge was to study how to increase the availability and use of data in order to build evidence about government programs, while protecting privacy and confidentiality. The report describes the Commission’s findings and presents recommendations for improvements to the federal government’s evidence-building systems and capabilities. Specifically, the Commission’s report includes recommendations on how the federal government can provide the infrastructure for secure access to data, the mechanisms to improve privacy protections and transparency about the uses of data for evidence building, and the institutional capacity to support evidence building. Additional information on the Commission can be found here.
DOT Announces $500 Million in TIGER Program Funding
On Wednesday the U.S. Department of Transportation announced a $500 million funding opportunity for state and local stakeholders through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. The fiscal year 2017 appropriations act allocated $500 million, available through September 2020, for TIGER grants. The funding is awarded on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area, or a region. According to the announcement, the selection criteria remain fundamentally the same as previous rounds of the TIGER grants program but the description of each criterion was updated and the FY 2017 TIGER program will give special consideration to projects affecting rural areas. The deadline to submit an application for the FY 2017 funds is October 16. The notice of funding opportunity can be found here.
CDC Releases $28.6 Million in Opioid Grants to States
On Tuesday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it was awarding more than $28.6 million in additional funding to 44 states and the District of Columbia to support their responses to the opioid overdose epidemic. Three different funding allocations were made: $19.3 million was awarded to 27 states under the Prescription Drug Overdose: Prevention for States program; $4.6 million was awarded to 12 states and D.C. under the Data-Driven Prevention Initiative; and $4.7 million was awarded to 32 states and D.C. under the Enhanced State Opioid Overdose Surveillance program. This funding builds on the July announcement that CDC was providing $12 million to states to support overdose prevention activities.
Recently Released Reports
Crime in 2017: A Preliminary Analysis
Brennan Center for Justice
The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2017
ACT
State Innovation Waivers: Frequently Asked Questions
Congressional Research Service
2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation: National Overview
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Economic News
New Report Examines Effects of Opioid Epidemic on Economy
A new paper in the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity examines the U.S. labor force participation rate, including the effects of the opioid epidemic. According to the research, nearly half of prime age not in the labor force (NLF) men take pain medication on a daily basis, and in nearly two-thirds of these cases they take prescription pain medication. Labor force participation has fallen more in areas where relatively more opioid pain medication is prescribed, causing the problem of depressed labor force participation and the opioid crisis to become intertwined. This report includes an analysis of the connection between the use of pain medication, opioid prescription rates, and labor force participation.