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October 9, 2018 - Washington Report

By Leah Wavrunek posted 10-09-2018 09:57 AM

  

This Week on the Hill

The Senate is in session this week while the House is on recess until November 13.

The Senate convenes this afternoon and has a procedural vote scheduled on the bipartisan America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (S 3021), which would authorize $6.1 billion in federal expenditures on Army Corps of Engineers projects and $4.4 billion over three years for the state drinking water revolving loan fund program. The legislation was already passed unanimously by the House last month. Several hearings are scheduled this week in the Senate: the Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on state conservation efforts, the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on system restoration plans in the electric utility industry.


Congress Sends Bipartisan Opioid Response Bill to the President

The House voted 393-8 two weeks ago to advance a final opioids package, which had been released by bipartisan negotiators earlier in the week, and the Senate followed with a vote of 98-1 on Wednesday. The bill (H.R. 6) would remove the Institutions for Mental Disease (IMD) exclusion that prohibits the use of federal Medicaid financing for care provided to most patients in mental health and substance use disorder residential treatment facilities larger than 16 beds. Other features of the bill include expansion of telehealth availability under Medicaid and Medicare; the reauthorization of State Targeted Response grants; inclusion of the STOP Act which addresses illegal drugs at the border; encouraging non-opioid alternatives for pain; improving education, surveillance and treatment of injection drug-use associated infections; and increased first responder and naloxone training. The bill now goes to the President, who is expected to sign it.

 

Congress Approves Five-Year FAA Reauthorization

On Wednesday the Senate voted 93-6 to send a five-year, $96.7 billion reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to the President, who signed the legislation on Friday. In addition to the FAA authorization, the bill (H.R. 302) includes nearly $1.7 billion in funding for Hurricane Florence relief, authorizations of the Transportation Security Administration and National Transportation Safety Board, and major changes to Federal Emergency Management Agency policy. The legislation also gives the FAA the ability to regulate longer drone flights, operations over people and at night, as well as allowing federal authorities to intercept drones viewed as a threat by the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice. The House had passed the bipartisan bill the previous week by a vote of 398-23. A summary of the final bill can be found here.

 

Bill Strengthening Federal Grant Reporting Advances in House, Senate

Legislation has advanced in the House and Senate that aims to modernize and standardize a reporting system for recipients of federal grant funding that more easily translates into open data. On September 26, the House approved H.R. 4887, the Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency Act of 2018 (GREAT Act). The GREAT Act is a continuation of the vision enmeshed in the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act), which required the federal government to utilize data standards for spending information. The GREAT Act directs the executive branch to adopt a standardized data structure for the information grantees must report to agencies. The companion measure, S. 3484, was moved out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on September 26 and now awaits a vote by the full Senate. A summary of the bill from the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers (NASACT), which has been tracking the bill, can be found here

 

Senate Committee Advances LWCF Reauthorization Bill

Last Tuesday the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 16-7 to move a bill (S. 569) that permanently reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which expired on September 30. Under the bill sponsored by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), 1.5 percent of the fund’s payouts must help improve access to lands for recreation; it will also for the first time ensure dedicated, mandatory annual funding for the LWCF at its $900 million authorized level that is no longer subject to appropriation. The House Natural Resources Committee approved a bipartisan reauthorization bill last month to also permanently reauthorize the LWCF, which requires at least 40 percent of the funds to go to states and 40 percent to the federal government; the House version does not turn it into a mandatory program. The House is out of session until November 13 and cannot act on its bill until that time; the Senate bill is now available for consideration on the floor.

 

DOT Releases New Framework on Self-Driving Vehicles

Last Thursday the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released new federal guidance for automated vehicles, “Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0.” The new framework builds upon but does not replace the voluntary guidance provided under “Automated Driving Systems 2.0: A Vision for Safety,” released last year. The new guidance includes transit, trucks and buses in addition to cars; contemplates an update to federal motor vehicle safety standards; removes the designation of 10 “proving grounds” named by the Obama administration and discusses creating a pilot program to learn from testing already happening on public roads; affirms a commitment to using the 5.9 GHz spectrum for connected cars; and mentions an upcoming study of how self-driving vehicles could affect the workforce. Additionally, the document encourages state governments to think twice before regulating automated vehicles, arguing that “unnecessary or overly prescriptive State requirements could create unintended barriers for the testing, deployment, and operations of advanced vehicle safety technologies.”

 

DOJ Announces $320 Million to Combat Opioid Crisis

On October 1, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it is awarding almost $320 million to combat the opioid crisis. The funds will be awarded by the department’s Office of Justice Programs and will be distributed across seven different programs: Innovative Prosecution Solutions for Combating Violent Crime and Opioid Abuse ($2.8 million); Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-Based Program ($162 million); Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program ($5.9 million); Helping Children and Youth Impacted by Opioids ($46.6 million); Drug Courts ($81.2 million); Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant Program ($17 million); and Opioid-Related Research for Criminal Justice Purposes ($4.1 million). A fact sheet that shows awards by program can be found here.

 

Fiscal Year 2017 TANF Financial Data Released

Recently the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Family Assistance posted the fiscal year 2017 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families financial data tables, along with an interactive map and national and state pie charts. In fiscal year 2017, combined federal TANF and state maintenance-of-effort (MOE) expenditures and transfers totaled $31.1 billion. Across the country, 22.7 percent of TANF and MOE funds was used for basic assistance; 10.5 percent was used for work, education and training activities; and 16.1 percent was used for child care. Individual state pie charts, containing more information on how states used their TANF and MOE funds in fiscal year 2017, can be found here.

 

Recently Released Reports

Workforce of the Future: Strategies to Manage Change
Center for State and Local Government Excellence

Medicaid Home- and Community-Based Services: Selected States' Program Structures and Challenges Providing Services
U.S. Government Accountability Office

Policy Levers That States Can Use to Improve Opioid Addiction Treatment and Address the Opioid Epidemic
Health Affairs

Drinking Water State Revolving Fund: Overview, Issues and Legislation
Congressional Research Service

 

Economic News

Economy Adds 134,000 Jobs in September

New data released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 134,000 in September and the unemployment rate declined to 3.7 percent, the lowest level since December 1969. Economists believe that Hurricane Florence was likely responsible in part for the relatively low number of jobs created last month. The data also shows that in September there were 6.0 million unemployed persons, a decrease of 270,000. The number of long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 1.4 million, accounting for 22.9 percent of the total unemployed. The labor force participation rate remained at 62.7 percent. In September, job gains occurred in professional and business services (54,000), health care (26,000), transportation and warehousing (24,000), construction (23,000), manufacturing (18,000) and mining (6,000). A slight decrease was seen in leisure and hospitality (-17,000) while employment saw little or no change for wholesale trade, retail trade, information, financial activities and government. The average hourly earnings for all employees increased by 8 cents to $27.24 in September, following an increase of 10 cents in August. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 73 cents, or 2.8 percent.