This Week on the Hill
The Senate returns today and the House tomorrow, as tax policy and the budget are expected to dominate the week.
The House convenes Tuesday and will consider six bills under suspension of the rules, including H.R. 2228, the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act of 2017. On Wednesday the House will vote on a resolution requiring all employees to complete anti-harassment training. For Thursday and Friday, the chamber will consider three bills, including legislation to reauthorize the brownfields program through fiscal year 2022 at $250 million per year (H.R. 3017). Several committees scheduled hearings this week: Appropriations Subcommittees will hold hearings on oversight of supplemental disaster funds; the Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on combating the opioid crisis and on Wednesday will hold a hearing on cybersecurity of voting machines; and the Science, Space and Technology Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on the role of states in the future of the Waters of the U.S. rule.
The Senate convenes today and will continue to consider judicial nominations. Later this week, the chamber appears set to take up the tax policy bill, with a vote possible on Thursday. Several committees scheduled hearings this week: the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on simplifying the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) and will hold a hearing Thursday on state perspectives of the opioid crisis.
Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Update
Last week the Senate Appropriations Committee released draft text for the final four spending bills for fiscal year 2018.
- Defense: Provides $581.3 billion in base Department of Defense funding, which is $15.4 billion above the President’s request and above the budget cap of $549 billion. The bill fully funds an active duty end strength of 1,322,500 and a reserve component end strength of 816,900, and funds a 2.4 percent pay raise for military personnel.
- Homeland Security: Provides $51.6 billion in discretionary funding, which is $9.2 billion above fiscal 2017 levels and $7.3 billion higher than the House version. The bill includes $1.6 billion in funding for a southern border wall, as well as increases for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
- Interior-Environment: Provides $32.6 billion in discretionary funding, including $507 million in emergency firefighting funds. The bill provides $300 million more than fiscal 2017 levels and is $1.2 billion above the House’s version. The Environmental Protection Agency would receive a cut of $149.5 million, while the Interior Department would see a reduction of $16 million from fiscal 2017 levels.
- Financial Services: Provides $20.8 billion, which is $637 million below fiscal 2017 levels. The bill funds the Internal Revenue Service at $11.1 billion, equal to the House’s version, and funds an increase to the federal judiciary of $260 million.
The bills are not expected to receive a markup in the committee, but are instead intended to serve as guideposts in discussions on funding the government for fiscal 2018, after the current continuing resolution expires on December 8. House and Senate leadership are expected to meet with the President this week to discuss funding options. Another continuing resolution is widely expected, but it is unclear how long the resolution would extend; Congress is currently scheduled to adjourn for the year on December 15.
Senate Releases Legislative Text, Summary for Tax Plan Passed by Committee
The Senate Finance Committee released the bill text for its tax plan as passed by the committee prior to Thanksgiving, and also released a section-by-section summary, which can be found here. The Joint Committee on Taxation released its estimated revenue effects of the plan, which can be found here, and yesterday the Congressional Budget Office released its cost estimate of the reconciliation recommendations of the Senate Finance Committee. Over the period of 2018 to 2027, the bill would decrease federal revenues by $1.6 trillion, decrease outlays by $219 billion, and on net would increase deficits by $1.4 trillion. The Senate is expected to begin consideration of the bill later this week, with a vote possible on Thursday.
The Senate Budget Committee will meet Tuesday to markup draft reconciliation recommendations for tax policy changes and selling oil and gas extraction rights in a portion of Alaska. Because more than one committee produced reconciliation proposals, the two drafts must be packaged into one by the Budget Committee before the legislation goes to the floor for a vote.
FCC Chair Drafts Proposal to Roll Back Net Neutrality Rules
On Tuesday Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai released a draft order to commissioners entitled Restoring Internet Freedom Order, which will be voted on at the FCC’s Open Meeting on December 14; the order would reverse the 2015 net neutrality rules. The rules prohibit high-speed internet service providers, or I.S.P.s, from stopping or slowing down the delivery of websites and prevent the companies from charging customers extra fees for high-quality streaming and other services. According to officials at the FCC, the order would modify the transparency rule to require I.S.P.s to disclose practices such as blocking, throttling, or affiliate prioritization or paid prioritization that affect a user’s access to the internet, and the order would also pre-empt states and localities from adopting rules that conflict with federal law. FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn released a fact sheet on net neutrality and the effects of the draft proposal. The public draft will be released within three weeks of the December 14 vote.
Deadline Approaching for States in VW Settlement
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Volkswagen resolved allegations that VW violated the Clean Air Act through a series of three partial settlements. As part of the settlements, VW is required to provide almost $3 billion to an Environmental Mitigation Trust. According to EPA, there will be two trusts, one for state beneficiaries (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) and one for Indian tribe beneficiaries. States, the District, and Puerto Rico must elect to become beneficiaries within 60 days of the trust effective date, which is October 2, 2017. The deadline to register as a beneficiary is December 1, 2017, and the certification form can be found here. Additional information on the settlements can be found here.
President Signs Bill Requiring VA Information Sharing with State Substance Abuse Monitoring Programs
Last week the President signed H.R. 1545, the VA Prescription Data Accountability Act, into law. The bill clarifies current law to stipulate that the Veterans Health Administration at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is required to disclose information to state controlled substance monitoring programs for anyone – veteran or non-veteran – who is prescribed these medications through the VA. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Annie Kuster (D-NH) and was introduced in the Senate by Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Mike Rounds (R-SD). This bill widens the scope of patients for whom the VA must report prescribing information on to state controlled substance abuse monitoring programs to include dependents or other non-veterans receiving prescriptions.
Administration Compiles Child Care Background Check Resources
Recently the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the Department of Health and Human Services released a set of resources to assist states in complying with criminal background check requirements included in the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act. This law authorizes the federal child chare subsidy program known as the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), which was reauthorized in 2014. As part of the reauthorization, the law requires all states use the same set of comprehensive background checks for all child care teachers and staff. States and territories are expected to be in full compliance with the law by October 1, 2018; to assist states, the administration published this set of resources related to the criminal background checks.
Recently Released Reports
Pain in the Nation: The Drug, Alcohol, and Suicide Crises and the Need for a National Resilience Strategy
Trust for America’s Health
2017 Environmental Innovations: Leveraging Technology, Collaboration, and Creativity to Improve Outcomes
The Environmental Council of States
Strategies for Building Teacher Pipelines
Council of Chief State School Officers
Grid Smarts: State Considerations for Adopting Grid Modernization Technologies
National Governors Association
5 Ways State Juvenile Correctional Administrators Can Use Data
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Economic News
Real GDP Increased in Most States in the Second Quarter of 2017
New data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 48 states and the District of Columbia in the second quarter of 2017. Overall, real GDP by state growth ranged from 8.3 percent to -0.7 percent across specific states. Nationally, mining increased 28.6 percent and was the leading contributor to growth for the nation and in the three fastest-growing states; mining contributed to growth in 49 states led by increases in oil and gas production. Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting decreased 10.6 percent and subtracted from growth in 25 states including every state in the Plains region; this industry was the leading contributor to the decreases in real GDP in the only two states to decrease in the second quarter. Other sectors that grew the fastest in the second quarter include information services (7.0 percent), health care and social assistance (4.7 percent), retail trade (5.6 percent) and professional, scientific, and technical services (5.1 percent).