This Week on the Hill
The House and Senate will have abbreviated schedules this week to accommodate ceremonies remembering former President George H.W. Bush. The Senate cancelled votes for Monday and Tuesday and is instead expected to convene on Wednesday while the House has cancelled regular votes for the week.
Current CR Funding Portion of Government Expires Friday
The continuing resolution (CR) (P.L. 115-245) currently funding a portion of the federal government expires at midnight on Friday but a short-term extension is expected; the extension could be one or two weeks. Of the twelve appropriations bills that fund the federal government, five have been approved and signed into law with full-year funding. The CR only covers the seven remaining appropriations bills: Financial Services; Agriculture; Commerce-Justice-Science; Homeland Security; Interior-Environment; State-Foreign Operations; and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development. Following the cancellation of regular floor votes in the House this week, media reports indicate the House will pass a CR using unanimous consent. NASBO will continue to monitor action on the CR.
Administration Releases 1332 Waiver Concepts to States
On Thursday Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma announced the release of four waiver concepts designed to illustrate how states can waive certain Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions under section 1332 of the law and develop alternatives. These waiver concepts build on the recently issued guidance on section 1332 waivers, which have been renamed State Relief and Empowerment Waivers. As with all waiver requests, a state must ensure that the waiver plan meets the four statutory guardrails relating to comprehensiveness, affordability, coverage, and federal deficit neutrality. The four waiver concepts are: account-based subsidies; state-specific premium assistance; adjusted plan options; and risk stabilization strategies. A fact sheet on the waiver concepts can be found here.
Tax Package Introduced in House
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) announced a tax bill last Monday that would revive “tax extenders,” correct provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), provide retirement and other savings enhancements, redesign the Internal Revenue Service, and provide temporary tax relief for victims of disasters. The tax extenders are 26 tax breaks that had expired last year and were in line to be extended another year. A manager’s amendment added Thursday would have repealed the $1.8 billion tax increase on nonprofit organizations’ transportation fringe benefits for employees that was included in the TCJA. The bill had been set for a House floor vote on Friday, but the bill was pulled prior to any action; it is unknown if the bill will be placed back on the schedule next week. A section-by-section analysis, as well as a list of offered amendments, can be found here.
Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Excessive Fines, Application to States
Last Wednesday the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of Timbs v. Indiana, which presents the question of whether the Constitution’s prohibition on excessive fines applies to state and local governments. Timbs pled guilty to drug charges and had his Land Rover seized, with the state arguing the vehicle was used in the commission of the crime. Due to the value of the vehicle, Timbs countered that requiring him to forfeit the vehicle would violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on excessive fines. During the oral arguments, the justices asked questions both about the applicability to state and local governments as well as how to determine if a fine is excessive.
Farm Bill Update
On Thursday the House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders announced an agreement was reached in principle on the 2018 Farm Bill. Language is still being finalized, and the lawmakers are also waiting on Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cost estimates. Provisions in the farm bill reauthorize farm programs that provide eligible farmers and ranchers payments when prices or revenues decline below preset levels, and also set policy and authorize a variety of programs including conservation, rural development and food aid. According to media reports, a final agreement is expected to omit expanded work requirements for food aid recipients that was included in the House version of the bill (H.R. 2). The authorization for the current farm bill expired on September 30.
Flood Insurance Program Extended by One Week
Last week the House voted 350-46 and the Senate approved by unanimous consent agreement H.R. 7187, which would extend the authorization for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for one week to December 7; the President signed the bill on Saturday. The previous authorization for the program expired on November 30 and the program has been operating under a series of extensions since its prior multi-year authorization expired September 30, 2017. Separately, the Senate approved by voice vote a bipartisan bill sponsored by Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) that reauthorizes the program for six months; it is unknown if the House will consider that bill on the floor.
Select Committees Miss Deadline, Fail to Advance Legislation
Two joint select congressional committees faced a November 30 deadline to report their recommendations, with one committee failing to advance legislation and the other continuing its work. The Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform rejected its proposal on Thursday, with opponents citing concerns over the voting process on the floor of the Senate. The proposal would have set a two-year budget resolution period instead of the current one year and moved introduction of the budget resolution from April 15 to May 1. Meanwhile, the Joint Select Committee on the Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans co-chairs released a statement Thursday indicating that “while they have made significant progress and a bipartisan solution is attainable, more time is needed and the committee will continue its work.”
Federal Judge Rules Against Withholding Funds from Sanctuary Cities
On Friday, a federal judge in New York ruled that the Administration cannot withhold federal law enforcement grants from seven states because of their “sanctuary” immigration policies. Judge Ramos stated that the government “did not have lawful authority” to make states alert federal agents when an undocumented immigrant is going to be released from state or local custody and allow federal agents to question immigrants in custody about their legal status in order for states and cities to receive funding. In the ruling, the judge blocked the government from enforcing those conditions on New York, New York City and the six states that also challenged the requirements: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington. The ruling follows similar orders from judges in Chicago and San Francisco. In 2017, the Department of Justice put forward two new certification requirements for awards under the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program.
Recently Released Reports
Balancing Objectives in Public Employee Post-Retirement Employment Policies: Reassessing Barriers to Continued Work
Center for State and Local Government Excellence and National Association of State Retirement Administrators
Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in the Child Welfare Context: Challenges and Opportunities
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Early Learning Facilities Policy Framework
Bipartisan Policy Center
Mortality in the United States, 2017
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Economic News
GDP Increase for the Third Quarter of 2018 Unchanged in Second Estimate
The U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis released the “second” estimate for real gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2018, showing that GDP increased at an annual rate of 3.5 percent. The second estimate is based on more complete source data than were available for the “advance” estimate issued in October, which also showed an increase of real GDP of 3.5 percent. According to the release, the general picture of economic growth remains the same; upward revisions to nonresidential fixed investment and private inventory investment were offset by downward revisions to personal consumption expenditures and state and local government spending.