This Week on the Hill
The House and Senate are both in session this week.
The House convenes today and over the week is scheduled to consider 15 bills while House Republicans hold leadership elections on Wednesday. The Senate also convenes today and will consider S. 140 this week, the Coast Guard reauthorization bill. Senate Republicans will hold their leadership elections on Wednesday.
Preview of the “Lame Duck” Session
Congress returns today and faces just 16 legislative days when both chambers are in session before the end of the year, and just 12 days before the current continuing resolution funding parts of the government expires. Below is a preview of issues that may arise in the upcoming lame duck session.
- Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations: Five of the twelve appropriations bills have been signed into law, with the remaining seven expiring on December 7 (Financial Services, Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, Homeland Security, Interior-Environment, State-Foreign Operations, and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development). It is unknown if Congress will pass full-year funding bills for the remaining agencies or will instead advance another continuing resolution. The largest roadblock to full-year funding may be the President’s request for $5 billion towards a southern border wall.
- Farm Bill: The top two House negotiators met yesterday to look for a compromise that could pass Congress, after the current Farm Bill expired on September 30. The House and Senate passed bills that differed significantly in the treatment of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); the House version (R. 2) included expanded work requirements for certain participants.
- Land and Water Conservation Fund Reauthorization: The program expired on September 30, although attempts were made in each chamber to reauthorize the program. A reauthorization may be added to other must-pass bills, including spending bills. Bills to permanently reauthorize the program passed the House Committee on Natural Resources (R. 502) and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (S. 569) earlier this fall.
- Tax Reform 2.0: The House passed a package of bills in September that form “Tax Reform 2.0” and includes a bill (R. 6760) that makes the individual tax provisions included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent. Congress may revisit these tax proposals again during the lame duck session. Additional information on the tax package can be found here.
- National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization: Congress approved a short-term extension of the program through November 30; the last long-term authorization was passed in 2012. It is unknown if a reauthorization or additional extension will be used to keep the program running.
- Criminal Justice Reform: The Senate may bring bipartisan legislation to the floor to enact criminal justice reform, which could pair a House-passed prison reform bill with some sentencing reforms. Proposed language could be released this week.
CMS Releases Medicaid Managed Care Proposed Rule
Last Thursday the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule making significant revisions to the 2016 managed care regulatory framework for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Managed care is a system where states contract with private health plans to administer Medicaid benefits. Over two thirds (68.1 percent) of all Medicaid beneficiaries were enrolled in comprehensive managed care in 2016, up from 65.5 percent in 2015, according to CMS. The rules are intended to provide states with greater flexibility, strengthen accountability and maintain and enhance program integrity. And while CMS is not proposing any changes to the limitation of 15 days for lengths of stay in an institution for mental disease, it is asking for comments from states for data that could support revisions to this policy. Comments on the proposed rule are due January 14. A fact sheet can be found here and the proposed rule can be found here.
DOJ Issues Guidance on Use of Consent Decrees
On Wednesday former Attorney General Jeff Sessions signed a memorandum providing direction to all civil litigating components and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices on the principles that should be followed when resolving a civil lawsuit against a state or local government. The memorandum includes guidelines on: how civil litigating components and U.S. Attorneys should handle investigations and reports of allegations; the notice, approval, and substantive requirements for consent decrees and settlement agreements, as well as constitutional and policy considerations; and use and limits of monitors for state and local governmental entities. Specific requirements include the notification of the Deputy Attorney General or Associate Attorney General of any decision to initiate negotiations with a state or local governmental entity for a consent decree that would place a court in a long-term position of monitoring compliance or create long-term structural or programmatic obligations, or long-term, indeterminate financial obligations, for a state or local governmental entity. The memo also states that in most cases, the Department of Justice should take direct responsibility for ensuring a defendant’s compliance with the terms of a settlement agreement rather than using a monitor.
CDC Finds Cigarette Smoking by Adults at Lowest Level Ever
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released data showing that cigarette smoking has reached the lowest level ever recorded among U.S. adults. In 2017 an estimated 14 percent of adults (34 million) were current (“every day” or “some day”) cigarette smokers, down from 15.5 percent in 2016 and a 67 percent decline since 1965. In 2017, cigarettes were the most commonly used product (14 percent) among adults, followed by cigars, cigarillos, or filtered little cigars (3.8 percent); e-cigarettes (2.8 percent); smokeless tobacco (2.1 percent); and pipes, water pipes, or hookahs (1 percent). This week the Food and Drug Administration is expected to issue a ban on flavored e-cigarette sales in gas stations and convenience stores to address youth use of e-cigarettes.
Recently Released Reports
SNAP: Disseminating Information on Successful Use of Data Analytics Could Help States Manage Fraud Risks
U.S. Government Accountability Office
Why Do Short-Term Health Insurance Plans Have Lower Premiums Than Plans That Comply with the ACA?
Kaiser Family Foundation
Five Trends in Police Body Camera Legislation
Urban Institute
Enrollment and Employees in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2017; and Financial Statistics and Academic Libraries, Fiscal Year 2017
National Center for Education Statistics
Economic News
Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rates Steady
At its November meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee voted 9-0 to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 2-2.25 percent. The committee noted information received since the September meeting indicates that the labor market has continued to strengthen, and that growth of economic activity has been rising at a strong rate. Job gains have been strong, on average, in recent months, and the unemployment rate has declined. On a 12-month basis, both overall inflation and inflation for items other than food and energy remain near 2 percent. The Committee expects that further gradual increases in the target range for the federal funds rate will be consistent with sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and inflation near the Committee’s symmetric 2 percent objective over the medium term.
Job Openings Decrease to 7.0 Million in September
The number of job openings decreased to 7.0 million on the last business day of September, according to data recently released by the U.S. Department of Labor (down from 7.3 million in August). Job openings increased in September for health care and social assistance (+71,000) but decreased in professional and business services (-118,000), finance and insurance (-82,000), and state and local government, excluding education (-67,000). The number of hires was little changed at 5.7 million in September and the hires rate was little changed at 3.8 percent. The number of separations was little changed at 5.7 million. The 3.6 million quits reported in September was little changed from August; 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 1.7 million. Over the 12 months ending in September, hires totaled 67.5 million and separations totaled 65.1 million, yielding a net employment gain of 2.5 million.