Blog Viewer

July 16, 2018 - Washington Report

By Leah Wavrunek posted 07-16-2018 04:01 PM

  

This Week on the Hill

The House and Senate are in session this week, with a focus on spending bills and nominations.

The House convenes today and considers 24 bills including H.R. 5333, which modifies the Food and Drug Administration’s regulatory framework for over-the-counter drugs and establishes user fees. For the remainder of the week, the House will consider several bills including H.Con.Res. 119, which expresses the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the U.S. economy, and will vote on a motion to go to conference on H.R. 2, the farm bill. Several committees scheduled hearings this week: the Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on the summer food service program; the Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on state efforts to improve health care cost transparency; and the Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on the effects of tariffs on agriculture and rural communities.

The Senate convenes today and will consider the nomination of Scott Stump to be assistant secretary for Career, Technical and Adult Education at the Education Department. Several committees scheduled hearings this week: the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on reducing health care costs; the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on the administration’s reorganization proposal; and the Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on federal investment in DNA analysis.

 

Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Update

The House takes up a second spending package this week as the Senate appoints conferees for the first package (which covered Energy-Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs).

  • Second Spending Package: The House will consider a second spending package this week covering the Interior-Environment and Financial Services appropriations bills. The $35.3 billion Interior-Environment bill passed the Appropriations Committee by a vote of 25-20, with Democrats opposed to several policy riders. The $23.4 billion Financial Services bill passed the committee by a vote of 28-20. The Rules Committee will meet tonight to decide which amendments will be considered during the floor vote.
  • Labor-Health and Human Services-Education: The House Appropriations Committee voted 30-22 to approve the $177.1 billion bill, which is essentially the same as the fiscal 2018 enacted level. Policy riders were included on funding for Planned Parenthood, gun research and the Affordable Care Act. Several amendments were offered addressing family separations at the border. A floor vote has not been scheduled at this time.
  • Homeland Security: The House Appropriations Committee has finished 11 of the 12 appropriations bills, with only work on the Homeland Security bill remaining. Press reports indicate the subcommittee may mark up the bill, which has not been released, on Tuesday.

 

CMS Announces Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) Allotments

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published final Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments for fiscal 2016 and preliminary ones for fiscal 2018. The notice also announces the final fiscal 2016 and the preliminary fiscal 2018 limitations on aggregate DSH payments that states may make to institutions for mental disease and other mental health facilities. In addition, the notice includes background information describing the methodology for determining the amounts of states’ DSH allotments.

 

Ways and Means Passes Several Health Care Tax Bills

Last week the House Ways and Means Committee passed 11 health care bills, with many relating to health savings accounts. Several of the bills expand flexibility for health savings accounts, like increasing contribution limits and allowing purchase of over-the-counter medical products. The committee also voted 28-7 to pass H.R. 6312, which allows taxpayers to receive a tax credit for gym memberships or other exercise activities. Related to the Affordable Care Act, the committee voted 22-15 to approve H.R. 4616, which would retroactively repeal the law’s requirement that most employers offer health insurance coverage to employees for 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, and further delay the implementation of the so-called “Cadillac tax,” a levy on high-cost employer-sponsored health plans, to the year 2023. H.R. 6311, passed by a vote of 23-16, allows premium tax credits to be used for qualified plans offered outside of the exchanges while H.R. 6314, approved 23-13, would allow catastrophic health plans to qualify for pairing with a health savings account. No floor votes have been scheduled at this time. Additional information on the committee’s markup can be found here.

 

DOT Sends Dear Colleague Letter on Financing Changes for Transit Grants

The Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration (FTA) sent a Dear Colleague letter on June 29 outlining requirements for non-federal project share for federal transit grant recipients. The letter highlights the statute that “specifically urges FTA to consider the extent to which the project has a local financial commitment that exceeds the required non-government share of the cost of the project.” Further, FTA considers U.S. Department of Transportation loans “in the context of all federal funding sources required by the project sponsor when completing the grant evaluation process, and not as separate from the federal funding sources.” Critics of the change have expressed concerns over impacts to the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA). The change was debated at a recent hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

 

House Introduces Endangered Species Bills, Senate to Hold Hearing

Last week members of the House Congressional Western Caucus introduced a package of nine bills to modernize and reauthorize the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The bills address the delisting of species, consultation with states, voluntary conservation, the petition process, cooperative management agreements with state, local and tribal governments, interplay with limited water infrastructure areas, and data transparency. No committee action has been scheduled at this time. The Senate will hold a hearing on a draft ESA reauthorization bill, sponsored by Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY), on Tuesday.

 

DOJ Announces Focus on Synthetic Opioids

Last week U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.), a new program that seeks to reduce the supply of deadly synthetic opioids in high impact areas, while also identifying wholesale distribution networks and suppliers. The department will launch an enforcement surge in ten districts with some of the highest drug overdose death rates in the following states: California, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Each participating U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) will choose a specific county and prosecute every readily provable case involving the distribution of fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and other synthetic opioids, regardless of drug quantity. According to the department, the focus will be on dealers, and not users, of the illicit drugs.

 

Recently Released Reports

What Explains Differences in Public Pension Returns Since 2001?

Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

2018 Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence

Results For America

The Early Childhood Workforce Index 2018

Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

Expanding Work Requirements in Non-Cash Welfare Programs

The Council of Economic Advisers

 

Economic News

 

Consumer Price Index and Real Hourly Earnings Increased in June

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for June, showing the CPI-U increased 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. Over the last twelve months, the all items index increased 2.9 percent before seasonal adjustment; this was the largest 12-month increase since the period ending February 2012. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in June, while the energy index declined 0.3 percent despite a 0.5 percent increase in the gasoline index. For the 12 months ending June, the index for all items less food and energy rose 2.3 percent. Meanwhile, real average hourly earnings for all employees increased 0.1 percent from May to June, seasonally adjusted. This result stems from a 0.2 percent increase in average hourly earnings combined with a 0.1 percent increase in the CPI-U.