This Week on the Hill
The House and Senate are both in session this week, as work continues on both a final tax bill and funding the government after December 22.
The House convenes today and will consider five bills under suspension of the rules, including H.R. 3359, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act. On Tuesday, the House will consider 13 bills and resolutions under suspension of the rules and will consider H.R. 3971, the Community Institution Mortgage Relief Act. For Wednesday the chamber will consider two bills pertaining to Iran and Thursday will consider a privacy bill. Several committees scheduled hearings this week including: the Education and the Workforce Committee will markup the higher education reauthorization bill (H.R. 4508) on Tuesday; the Veterans’ Affairs Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on the Forever GI Bill; and the Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on the drug supply chain.
The Senate convenes today and will hold a cloture vote on the nomination of Leonard Steven Grasz to be on the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Several committees scheduled hearings this week including: the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on the cost of prescription drugs and the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Also, on December 14, the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to vote on overturning the 2015 net neutrality rules, which require broadband providers to treat internet traffic equally.
Senate and House Appoint Conferees for Tax Bill and Announce Open Meeting
The House and Senate voted to go to conference last week and appointed conferees to work out a final tax policy bill. Major differences between the versions passed by each chamber include maintenance of the Alternative Minimum Tax, treatment of pass-through business income, state and local tax deductions, and individual tax brackets. The Joint Committee on Taxation released a comparison of the House and Senate bills, which can be found here, as well as the estimated revenue effects of the version approved by the Senate. The conference committee will hold an open meeting on Wednesday at 2pm ET to discuss H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and the President is scheduled to deliver a speech that day on the tax changes at the Treasury Department.
Continuing Resolution Signed, Extends Funding Until December 22
Last week the House voted 235-193 and the Senate voted 81-14 to approve a continuing resolution (CR) that funds the federal government through December 22; the President signed the resolution into law on Friday. The resolution contains a provision to assist states with their Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) and also extends authorization of the National Flood Insurance Program through December 22. Negotiations continue over a long-term spending agreement for fiscal year 2018, as Republicans and Democrats disagree over funding levels for defense and non-defense discretionary programs. Current spending caps, as established by the Budget Control Act, are $549 billion for defense and $516 billion for non-defense discretionary. However, Republicans wish to increase spending for defense programs while Democrats push parity for non-defense programs. Proposed spending caps may be revealed as part of a measure to fund the government after December 22, although another CR is expected to give Congress time to work out an omnibus spending bill.
Update on CHIP Funding in the Continuing Resolution
The continuing resolution (HJ Res 123) approved last week also contains a provision to help states continue CHIP through December 31. The CHIP provision in the continuing resolution would temporarily lift certain spending constraints and allow states to more easily receive unused funds from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to support their CHIP programs until the program is renewed. Seventeen states have received redistribution grants from CMS to continue their programs with another nine states expected to receive redistribution grants in the coming days and weeks, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP). CMS has currently reallocated approximately $1.2 billion in redistributed grants of the total available of about $2.9 billion. The Kaiser Family Foundation prepared a fact sheet that provides an overview of state plans for CHIP as they grow closer to exhausting federal funds based on data collected from state Medicaid and CHIP officials by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Management Associates during November 2017. The findings show that about three-quarters of states anticipate exhausting funding by the end of March 2018 and that several states have begun or will begin notifying families about coverage reductions before the end of 2017.
USDA Issues Letter on Increased Flexibilities in SNAP
Last week the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sent letters to the state Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) commissioners addressing greater state flexibility in SNAP programs. The letter identifies three focus areas, including self-sufficiency, integrity and customer service, and states “as necessary to address each of these focus areas, we will allow greater state flexibility in areas that do not increase costs to taxpayers or our various partners on the ground. You can expect more communication soon on policy that shifts our focus toward these three critical areas.” The text of the letter can be found here.
Administration Releases Opt-Out Grant Application Information for FirstNet
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the State Alterative Plan Program (SAPP) on November 28, and released an overview of the funding opportunity on December 5. The notice provides states with guidance on the FirstNet opt-out application process, including the application requirements necessary to meet key statutory demonstrations focused on ongoing interoperability, financial stability, technical ability, and comparable security, coverage, quality of service, and timelines. To date, 35 states and territories have opted-in to the FirstNet Radio Access Network (RAN), while New Hampshire became the first state to opt-out of FirstNet and pursue an alternative plan.
ACF Report Shows an Increased Number of Children in Foster Care in FY2016
The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families recently released new foster care and adoption data, showing an increase in the number of children in foster care and an increase in the number of adoptions from the child welfare system. The number of children in foster care at the end of FY2016 increased to 437,500 from 427,400 the previous year, while the number of adoptions increased from 54,000 to 57,000. According to the report, of the 15 categories states can report for the circumstances associated with a child’s removal from the home and placement into care, drug abuse by a parent had the largest percentage point increase, from 32 percent in FY2015 to 34 percent in FY2016. Approximately 92,000 children were removed from their home because at least one parent had a drug abuse issue. The full report can be found here.
Health Spending Tops $3 Trillion in New CMS Report
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a report showing U.S. health care spending grew 4.3 percent in 2016, reaching $3.3 trillion or $10,348 per person. As a share of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, health spending accounted for 17.9 percent. Looking at health care spending by type of service, hospital care is the greatest share at 32 percent, followed by physician and clinical services (20 percent) and prescription drugs (10 percent). Health care spending by major sources of funds shows private health insurance was the highest share at 34 percent, followed by Medicare at 20 percent and Medicaid at 17 percent.
Interior Releases Report on Monument Changes
On Tuesday Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke released a final report outlining recommendations on national monument designations under the Antiquities Act. The report recommends modifying the boundaries and management of several monuments, adding three new national monuments, and expanding access for hunting and fishing. The previous day, the President signed proclamations to adjust the boundaries and management of Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Secretary Zinke’s review and final report were directed by Executive Order 13792, issued on April 26; the order required the Secretary to review all designations or expansions resulting in a designation covering more than 100,000 acres or those designations “made without adequate public outreach and coordination with relevant stakeholders.”
EPA Issues List of Targeted Superfund Sites
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a list Friday of Superfund sites targeted for “immediate and intense” action. Per the release, the list is in direct response to the Superfund Task Force Recommendations issued on July 25 and includes sites in 18 states. In developing this initial list, EPA says it considered sites that can benefit from Administrator Scott Pruitt’s direct engagement and have identifiable actions to protect human health and the environment. These are sites requiring timely resolution of specific issues to expedite cleanup and redevelopment efforts. A list of questions and answers pertaining to the sites can be found here.
Recently Released Reports
College Credit in High School: Working Group Report
CollegeBoard
States Be Aware: Cost Savings for Dual Enrollment Elude State Leaders
Brookings Institution
2017 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
State CIO Top Ten Priorities for 2018
National Association of State Chief Information Officers
Economic News
Economy Adds 228,000 Jobs in November
New data released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 228,000 in November and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent. The unemployment rate matched the lowest level since December 2000. The data also shows that in November there were 6.6 million unemployed persons, essentially unchanged from October. The number of long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 1.6 million, accounting for 23.8 percent of the total unemployed. The labor force participation rate was unchanged at 62.7 percent. In November, job gains occurred in manufacturing (31,000), health care (30,000), and professional and business services (46,000). Employment saw little change for mining, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and government. The average hourly earnings for all employees increased by 5 cents to $26.55 in November, following a decrease of 1 cent in October. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5 percent.