This Week on the Hill
The House and Senate return from a one-week recess with a focus on opioids, nominations and spending bills.
The House convenes today and will consider seven bills. On Tuesday the House will consider nine economic development bills and S.J. Res. 57, a bill to repeal guidance on auto lending discrimination as issued by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection in 2013. There are also votes scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, including on H.R. 2152, relating to new reporting requirements for Department of Justice grants to state and local governments for pretrial services programs. Several committees scheduled hearings this week: the Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on closing the skills gap; the Energy and Commerce Committee will hold two hearings on Tuesday on the opioid epidemic; and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on progress of the 2020 Census.
The Senate convenes today to resume consideration of a judicial nomination. Several committees have scheduled hearings this week: the Appropriations Committee will hold several hearings on agency budget requests for FY2019; the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on drones; and the Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018.
The administration is expected to release a $15 billion rescission package on Tuesday, according to media reports. The package would cut from unspent appropriations from previous years and is not expected to make reductions to current fiscal year 2018 spending.
DOT Rebrands TIGER Grants, Encourages Non-Federal Revenue
The Department of Transportation (DOT) recently announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity for $1.5 billion in discretionary grant funding. The funding is available through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Discretionary Grants program; the BUILD Transportation grants replace the pre-existing Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program. According to the press release, FY 2018 BUILD Transportation grants are for investments in surface transportation infrastructure and are to be awarded on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant local or regional impact. BUILD funding can support roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports or intermodal transportation. The release notes that DOT “intends to award a greater share of grant funding to projects located in rural areas that align well with the selection criteria than to such projects in urban areas.” BUILD grants also include a new merit criterion of non-federal revenue, to encourage local governments to proactively raise new sources of revenue for transportation infrastructure investment. The maximum grant award is $25 million, and no more than $150 million can be awarded to a single state. A fact sheet on BUILD grants can be found here and the department will also be holding a series of webinars on how to compete for BUILD Transportation grants. The application deadline is July 19.
Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Update
The House continues work on fiscal year 2019 appropriations bills, with the first two bills receiving markups by the full Appropriations Committee and new spending bills being released this week. First, the Appropriations Committee will hold a markup Tuesday on the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and Legislative Branch spending measures. Second, the Energy-Water spending bill draft was released on Sunday, with a markup by the subcommittee scheduled for today. The bill totals $44.7 billion, which is $1.5 billion above the fiscal year 2018 enacted level with funding targeted toward national security efforts and energy and water infrastructure investments. Finally, on Wednesday subcommittee markups are scheduled for the Agriculture bill and Commerce, Justice, and Science bill; drafts of these spending measures have not yet been released.
CBO Analysis Finds Unfunded Mandates in House Farm Bill
Last week the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published its cost estimate for H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2 would increase net direct spending by $3.2 billion over the 2019-2023 period and by $0.5 billion over the 2019-2028 period, relative to CBO’s baseline projections; enacting the bill is estimated to increase revenues by $0.5 billion over the 2019-2028 period. CBO also found that H.R. 2 would impose public and private sector mandates. Mandates that apply to state governments include amending Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility requirements, new responsibilities for state Child Support Enforcement, and requiring new activities in the SNAP program. The bill includes work requirements for certain SNAP recipients and provides $1 billion each year, divided among the states, to help meet the bill’s employment and training requirement. CBO expects that states would not be able to offer training to all eligible recipients when the requirement takes effect in 2021, or by the end of 2028. Looking at estimated caseload changes, CBO estimates that in 2028 the SNAP caseload under the bill’s proposed work requirement would be lower by about 1.2 million people in an average month than it is under current law, or about 3.7 percent of the total caseload.
USDA Releases Proposed Rule on National GMO Labeling Standard
On Thursday the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a proposed rule to establish the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard mandated by Congress in 2016; the rule uses the term “bioengineered food” in place of the more commonly used “genetically modified organisms,” or GMOs. The department is proposing a new rule that would require food manufacturers and other entities that label foods for retail sale to disclose information about bioengineered food and food ingredient content. The proposed rule is intended to provide a mandatory uniform national standard for disclosure of information to consumers about the bioengineered status of foods. The law that required the creation of the national labeling standard (P.L. 114-216) also preempts any state food labeling standards. The deadline for public comments is July 3.
Energy Releases 2018 Weatherization Program Allocations
The Department of Energy released the program year 2018 grantee allocations for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), effective March 30. The omnibus spending bill signed into law by the President on March 23 (P.L. 115-141) appropriated $251 million to the WAP, including $248 million for formula distribution and $3 million for training and technical assistance activities at the department’s headquarters. The announcement includes individual state allocations for program year 2018.
EPA Makes Final Air Quality Designations
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Tuesday the identification of 51 nonattainment areas in 22 states and the District of Columbia as part of the process to implement the national air quality standards for ozone that were issued in 2015. After EPA sets a new National Ambient Air Quality Standard, or revises an existing standard, the Clean Air Act requires EPA to determine if areas across the country meet the new or revised standards. After working with both states and tribes and considering air quality data and other information, EPA “designates” areas of the country as “nonattainment” if it is not meeting the standard or contributes to a violation in a nearby area. Once areas are designated, state and local governments must develop implementation plans outlining how these areas will attain the standards by reducing air pollutant emissions. This follows action taken in November 2017, when the EPA designated most of the country as meeting the standards for ground-level ozone. Additional information on the final area designations can be found here.
Administration Publishes Report on Treatment Foster Care
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released a report that highlights state practices in treatment/therapeutic foster care. Treatment foster care (TFC; sometimes known as therapeutic foster care) is a family-based placement option for children with serious emotional, behavioral, or medical needs who can be served in the community with intensive support. This report describes how TFC is implemented and supported by states and includes information on the different funding strategies employed by states to support TFC services. Finally, state profiles are included for TFC in Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota and Tennessee.
Recently Released Reports
Prepayments in December Boost State and Local Tax Revenues in Fourth Quarter of 2017
Rockefeller Institute of Government
National Health Security Preparedness Index
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Rethinking Dual Enrollment to Reach More Students
Education Commission of the States
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2016
Probation and Parole in the United States, 2016
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Economic News
Economy Adds 164,000 Jobs in April
New data released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 164,000 in April and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.9 percent. This is the lowest level of unemployment since December 2000. The data also shows that in April there were 6.3 million unemployed persons, down from 6.6 million in March. The number of long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 1.3 million, accounting for 20.0 percent of the total unemployed. The labor force participation rate was little changed at 62.8 percent (down from 62.9 percent in March). In April, job gains occurred in manufacturing (24,000), health care (24,000), mining (8,000), and professional and business services (54,000). Employment saw little change for construction, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, leisure and hospitality, and government. The average hourly earnings for all employees increased by 4 cents to $26.84 in April, following an increase of 8 cents in March. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 67 cents, or 2.6 percent.
Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rates Steady for Now
At its May meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee voted 8-0 to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1.5 to 1.75 percent. The committee noted information received since the March meeting indicates that the labor market has continued to strengthen, and that economic activity has been rising at a moderate rate. Job gains have been strong, on average, in recent months, and the unemployment rate has stayed low. Recent data suggest that growth of household spending moderated from its strong fourth-quarter pace, while business fixed investment continued to grow strongly. On a 12-month basis, both overall inflation and inflation for items other than food and energy have moved close to 2 percent. In determining the timing and size of future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will assess realized and expected economic conditions relative to its objectives of maximum employment and 2 percent inflation. The Committee expects that economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant further gradual increases in the federal funds rate.