Federal Update 07/30/2010
Lawmakers scrambled to advance several key pieces of legislation
before departing for their month-long summer recess, which is
slated to begin July 30 for members of the House. The Senate is
scheduled to adjourn the following week. Among the bills Congress
pushed through before the break are the fiscal year 2010
emergency supplemental appropriations bill and the extension of
an unemployment benefits package.
House-Senate negotiators were finally able to break their
stalemate over the fiscal year 2010 emergency spending measure
(HR 4899), as House Democratic leaders agreed to concede on
several contentious provisions in their version of the
supplemental funding legislation. The House overwhelmingly
approved on July 27 the Senate-passed emergency supplemental
bill, though numerous Democrats voted against the package because
of concerns relating to the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
The scrapped House bill, which provided dollars for ongoing
military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, also included over
$22 billion in domestic spending initiatives. Among the
non-war-related items dropped from the supplemental are $10
billion to prevent layoffs of teachers and school employees, $5
billion for education-related Pell grants, and additional funding
for border security projects. Subsequently, the modified
emergency supplemental mirrors the $58.8 billion Senate version
that focuses on funding the two wars and disaster relief.
Also included in the supplemental spending measure is a provision
repealing the section of the fiscal year 2010 Interior
Appropriations bill (PL 111-88) that eliminate the 25 percent
county share of the geothermal revenues.
Although the aforementioned domestic items were dropped from the
supplemental measure, they could possibly be attached to another
legislative vehicle in the future, such as next year’s spending
measures.
In another key development, Majority Leader Reid was able to
finally advance a bill (HR 4213) to extend unemployment benefits.
With newly appointed Senator Carte Goodwin (D-WV) taking over the
late Senator Robert Byrd’s seat, Reid had the 60 votes necessary
to invoke cloture on the bill and limit debate. Following suit,
the House promptly cleared the bill by a vote of 272-152.
The $33.9 billion measure extends unemployment benefits through
November 30. The bill is also retroactive and extends coverage to
June 2, when the last round of benefits expired. The package also
includes 100 percent federal funding to states to help cover
implementation costs.
Another big-ticket item on the congressional agenda is the 12
fiscal year 2011 appropriations bills. To date, in the House,
only two of the 12 regular spending bills – Transportation-HUD
and Military Construction-VA – have been approved by the full
House. In the upper chamber, no funding bills for next year have
cleared the Senate.
Looking ahead, it is unclear which individual funding measures,
if any, will be approved by Congress this year. Although
appropriators have made some progress on advancing specific
spending bills, it is unlikely that they will be able to pass all
12 fiscal year 2011 bills separately. A more likely scenario is
that they will bundle any remaining individual spending bills and
pass a continuing resolution (CR) in order to keep the federal
government operating.
FEDERAL JOBS LEGISLATION
In an effort to reduce the unemployment rate, House Democrats
packaged anew tax provisions that supporters hope will result in
creating more jobs. The key component of the new bill (HR 5893)
is a $4 billion extension of the Build America Bonds (BABs)
program for two years beyond its current December expiration
date. The legislation extending BABs, which helps states and
localities with borrowing costs for construction projects, would
gradually slice the subsidy level provided by the federal
government.
The jobs bill would also extend for a year the Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families Emergency Fund, which is scheduled
to expire on September 30. The fund, which has created over
20,000 jobs in California, provides dollars for subsidized
employment.
While the rule for debating the measure was adopted 231-189, the
Democratic leadership ultimately pulled the bill from the floor
yesterday due to a Republican effort to strike an unpopular
provision in the health reform law that requires small businesses
to file a 1099 form to the IRS for payments of more than $600
made to any vendor during a tax year. Small-business groups have
objected to it and many Democrats support its repeal. Adopting
the amendment would have essentially made the underlying bill’s
costs add to the federal deficit.
MEDICAID
The Senate is expected to vote on cloture on Monday to consider a
scaled-back bill containing the enhanced federal match for
Medicaid and IV-E foster care. Under the measure, $16 billion in
additional funds would be made available for states’ Medicaid and
IV-E programs from January 2011 through June 2011. The original
proposal would have provided $24 billion to continue the match at
the current levels originally enacted under the Recovery
Act.
The Senate has already passed a larger bill containing the funds.
The House dropped its provision from its jobs bill earlier this
summer and will already be in recess if indeed the Senate is able
to adopt its package next week, delaying any possible final
action until mid-September.
TRIBAL AFFAIRS
On July 22, the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee
approved its spending bill for fiscal year 2011. During the
panel’s consideration of the legislation, the subcommittee
adopted an amendment by Representative Tom Cole (R-OK) that would
overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Carcieri v.
Salazar. Under the Court’s decision, the secretary’s trust land
acquisition authority is limited to those tribes that were under
federal jurisdiction at the time of the passage of the Indian
Reorganization Act of 1934.
CSAC strongly opposes the aforementioned congressional action in
the absence of comprehensive reforms to the Department of
Interior’s trust land process. The Cole amendment, along with
several other stand-alone Carcieri “quick fix” bills,
fails to address the legitimate and long-standing concerns of
States and local governments regarding the systemic flaws in the
current fee-to-trust process. Additionally, since the Cole
amendment has been added as a policy rider to an appropriations
bill, it precludes the opportunity for a full and open debate on
the broader policy implications arising from
the Carcieri decision.
Across Capitol Hill, Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) is expected to
offer his Carcieri “fix” amendment to the Senate’s
fiscal year 2011 Interior Appropriations bill. CSAC is working
closely with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), as well as other
stakeholders, in an effort to ensure that county government’s
interests are fully protected.
STATE CRIMINAL ALIEN ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
On July 21, the Senate Commerce, Justice and Science
(CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee approved by voice vote its
fiscal year 2011 spending bill. The legislation includes $300
million for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP),
or a $30 million reduction from the fiscal year 2010 funding
level.
Across Capitol Hill, and as reported in a previous edition of the
Legislative Bulletin, the House CJS Appropriations Subcommittee
approved its draft fiscal year 2011 spending bill in late June.
The measure includes $330 million for SCAAP, or the same amount
appropriated in the current fiscal year.
TRANSPORTATION
With regard to the fiscal year 2011 Transportation-HUD
Appropriations legislation, the House of Representatives cleared
its version of the spending bill on Thursday, July 29. The
measure would provide a total of $79.4 billion for the U.S.
Department of Transportation, including over $45 billion for
highway programs, or a $3 billion increase over the fiscal year
2010 funding level. The bill also includes $11.3 for transit
programs and $1.4 billion for high-speed rail grants. The highway
funding is $3.9 billion more than the president
requested.
Absent from the legislation is President Obama’s proposed
multibillion-dollar infrastructure bank, which could be used to
supplement declining gas tax receipts that are coming into the
Highway Trust Fund. Incidentally, while the president’s fiscal
year 2010 and 2011 budgets have included proposals for the
creation of an infrastructure bank, the administration has never
sent a specific policy proposal to Congress.
Across Capitol Hill, the full Senate has not yet considered the
fiscal year 2011 Transportation-HUD Appropriations bill. As
approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, the legislation
would provide roughly $3 billion less than the House bill for
highway programs.
ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
On the energy front, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
finally unveiled this past week a scaled-back energy package
after weeks of policy discussions regarding the composition of
the legislation. Although it had been expected that a renewable
energy mandate would serve as the foundation of the bill, Reid
opted not to include the requirement in the legislation over the
objections of a number of members of the Democratic caucus.
Reid’s bill would overhaul federal management of outer
continental shelf offshore drilling, promote home energy
efficiency retrofits, encourage the development of natural gas
and electric vehicles, and provide for increases in the Land and
Water Conservation Fund, which helps pay for state and federal
recreation programs.
In addition to inclusion of the Renewable Energy Standard, Reid
has been under pressure from a number of members to include a
carbon pricing component in the Senate’s bill. At this point, the
majority leader appears to be holding firm to his plans to move
forward with the more narrowly tailored package, with Reid
indicating his intention to bring the bill to the Senate floor
the week of August 2. However, given GOP opposition to the
package, it is unclear whether Reid will be able to garner the 60
votes necessary to bring the measure to the floor next week.
Key Senate Republicans are pressing for two or three weeks of
debate on the bill. With the upper chamber scheduled to begin its
month-long summer recess August 6, a lengthy debate would push
Senate consideration of the measure well into September. Given
that Congress is expected to adjourn in early October to hit the
campaign trail, little time would be left in the session to
finalize an energy bill. Of course, a lame-duck session is a
distinct possibility after the November elections.
For its part, the House is expected to vote Friday on its oil
spill measure (HR 3534). Like the Senate bill, it would impose
new safety mandates on offshore drilling, while restructuring the
Interior Department agency responsible for overseeing drilling on
federal property and waters into separate regulatory and leasing
components.