This Week on the Hill
The Senate convenes today while the House is out, returning September 25.
The Senate returns today and will consider a bipartisan opioid package that was delayed from last week due to the hurricane. The legislation (H.R. 6) includes provisions to encourage the development of non-addictive painkillers, prevent synthetic opioids from entering the country via the mail and authorize grants for substance abuse prevention and treatment services. Later in the week, the Senate is expected to take up the second “minibus” covering the Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education spending bills (see more information below). Several committees have 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 Tuesday on border security and family immigration; and the Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on interagency coordination to protect critical infrastructure.
Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Update
Congress passed the first “minibus” spending bill last week and negotiators from both chambers reached an agreement on funding the government through December 7.
- Energy-Water, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, Legislative Branch: The $147.5 billion spending package, or “minibus”, passed the Senate on a vote of 92-5 and the House on a vote of 377-20; the bill now goes to the President for his signature. The bill provides $98.1 billion for the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs title, a 5.8 percent increase over the current year, while Energy-Water would receive $44.6 billion, a 3.2 percent increase and the Legislative Branch would receive $4.8 billion, a 2.1 percent increase. Additional information, including the conference report text and summaries, can be found here.
- Defense-Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: Appropriators from both chambers reached an agreement on a spending package, the second “minibus,” that provides $850 billion while including a continuing resolution for the remaining agencies through December 7, 2018. The bill also reauthorizes the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, set to expire on September 30, through December 7. A majority of the funding, $674.4 billion, is allocated to Defense while the remaining $178 billion supports programs in the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education departments. Additional information on “minibus #2” can be found here.
House Committee Advances Tax Reform 2.0
Last Thursday the House Ways and Means Committee approved three bills that advance a second round of tax cuts known as Tax Reform 2.0. H.R. 6760 makes permanent the individual and small business tax cuts contained in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, including making permanent the $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions. H.R. 6757 promotes family savings by expanding 529 education accounts and allowing small businesses to join together to create a 401(k) plan more affordably while simplifying the rules for participation in employer plans. H.R. 6756 aims to spur new business growth by allowing new businesses to write off more start-up costs and removes barriers to growth. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated the bills would cost $657.3 billion over the next 10 years. Additional information on the bills, and a video of the committee markup, can be found here.
Water Infrastructure Compromise Bill Passes House
On Thursday the House passed a bipartisan water resources infrastructure bill in a compromise worked out with the Senate. America’s Water Infrastructure Act (S. 3021), passed by voice vote, now heads to the Senate for action. The bill authorizes more than $4.4 billion over three years for the state drinking water revolving loan fund program, authorizes $100 million over the next two years for areas affected by natural disasters that need help repairing their drinking water systems, reauthorizes the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) through 2021, eases administrative burdens and provides additional sources of funding for State Infrastructure Financing Authorities when applying for WIFIA loans, and authorizes $6.1 billion to construct 12 new Army Corps of Engineers projects and modifications to three previously authorized projects. The bill text can be found here, a summary here and a section-by-section analysis here.
House Committee Advances Bill Making LWCF Permanent
On Thursday the House Natural Resources Committee approved a bill, H.R. 502, which would permanently authorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) which is set to expire on September 30. The bill would also require not less than 40 percent of all LWCF funds be allocated for federal purposes and at least 40 percent for state purposes, while also requiring that 3 percent or $20 million, whichever is greater, be made available for priority projects identified by the Interior and Agriculture secretaries that “maintain or increase public access to public lands for hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreational activities.” The committee also approved H.R. 6510, which establishes, funds and provides for the use of amounts in a National Park Service and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund to address the maintenance backlog at the Interior Department. The bills now move to the full House for a floor vote, which has not been scheduled at this time.
FDA Taking Action on Flavored E-Cigarette Sales to Minors
Last week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a series of enforcement actions related to the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes to minors. First, the agency issued more than 1,300 warning letters and fines to retailers who illegally sold e-cigarette products to minors during a nationwide, undercover effort this summer. Second, the FDA issued letters to the manufacturers of the five top-selling national brands, asking each company to submit to FDA within 60 days plans describing how they will address the widespread youth access to and use of their products. If they fail to do so, or if the plans do not appropriately address this issue, the FDA will consider whether it would be appropriate to revisit the current policy that results in these products remaining on the market without a marketing order from the agency. Finally, the agency will indefinitely step up enforcement efforts with a sustained campaign to monitor, penalize and prevent e-cigarette sales to minors in convenience stores and other retail sites.
DOT Announces $586 Million in Airport Infrastructure Grants
On Wednesday the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will award $586 million in airport infrastructure grants, as part of the $3.18 billion in Airport Improvement Program funding for airports across the country. This is the fifth increment of funding and will be allocated through 217 grants to 181 airports in 39 states, funding 458 infrastructure projects. A complete listing of grant allocations can be found here.
ETA Releases Updated Report on State Unemployment Insurance Laws
The U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (ETA) recently released an updated report detailing significant provisions of state unemployment insurance laws effective July 2018. The report is released biannually to provide program data on unemployment insurance benefits and taxes in the states. The newest release provides information on each state’s wage requirements for eligibility, computation and amount of the weekly benefit, number of allowable benefit weeks, and the amount of earnings that will be disregarded for part-time workers. Archived versions can be found here.
Recently Released Reports
City Fiscal Conditions 2018
National League of Cities
Transitions and Alignment from Preschool to Kindergarten
Education Commission of the States
Spillovers from State and Local Pensions to Social Security: Do Benefits for Uncovered Workers Meet Federal Standards?
Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
State Medicaid Operations Survey
National Association of Medicaid Directors
Defense Spending by State Fiscal Year 2016
U.S. Department of Defense
Economic News
New Census Report Highlights Increased Median Household Income, Flat Uninsured Rate
The U.S. Census Bureau released new data last week that shows real median household income increased by 1.8 percent between 2016 and 2017, while the official poverty rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points. Median household income was $61,372 in 2017 and the 1.8 percent increase over 2016 marked the third consecutive annual increase. The 2017 real median earnings of all male workers increased 3.0 percent from 2016, while real median earnings for female workers saw no statistically significant change. A separate report on health insurance coverage found that in 2017, 8.8 percent of people, or 28.5 million, did not have health insurance at any point during the year. The uninsured rate and number of uninsured in 2017 were not statistically different from 2016, the first time since 2013 that the uninsured rate did not decrease from the prior year.
Job Openings See Little Change in July
The number of job openings was little changed at 6.9 million on the last business day of July, but reached a new series high, according to data recently released by the U.S. Department of Labor. Job openings increased in July for finance and insurance (+46,000) and nondurable goods manufacturing (+32,000) but decreased in retail trade (-85,000), educational services (-34,000) and federal government (-19,000). The number of hires was little changed at 5.7 million in July and the hires rate was unchanged at 3.8 percent. The number of separations was little changed at 5.5 million. The 3.6 million quits reported in July were little changed from June; many economists closely watch the number of quits as a measure of employee confidence in finding another job. Finally, layoffs and discharges were little changed at 1.6 million. Over the 12 months ending in July 2016, hires totaled 66.7 million and separations totaled 64.2 million, yielding a net employment gain of 2.5 million.