Update From Washington, DC
House Democrats Release Infrastructure Framework
On January 29th, House Democrats released their framework for an ambitious new infrastructure bill. The blueprint, which calls for spending $760 billion over five years, outlines investments in highways and bridges, rail and transit, ports and harbors, airports, water infrastructure, broadband, and brownfields. A copy of the document can be found here.
It should be noted that the framework will serve as a roadmap for three separate House committees – Transportation & Infrastructure, Energy & Commerce, and Ways & Means – as they craft the text of their respective infrastructure measures. Among the highlights of the framework are:
- $329 billion for highway, bridge, and safety investments, including funding for carbon reduction initiatives and resiliency projects;
- $105 billion for transit, including increased funding for transit agencies and investments in zero-emission buses;
- $30 billion in aviation investments, including a proposal that would increase and index the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC);
- $86 billion for broadband investments, the majority of which would be dedicated to deploying secure and resilient high-speed broadband for communities nationwide; and
- $50.5 billion for clean water and wastewater infrastructure, $10 billion for flood protection and navigation projects, and $25.4 billion for projects aimed at protecting drinking water.
With regard to financing the proposal, House Democrats are calling on President Trump to come to the table to help develop a set of bipartisan pay-fors. While there are a number of revenue-raising options available to Congress, several key Democratic leaders have expressed support for a combination of user fees and bonding mechanisms. Incidentally, the question of how to pay for new infrastructure spending was the topic of a January 29th hearing in the House Ways and Means Committee. The witness testimony can be found here.
Looking ahead, legislative text is expected to be released by the three committees sometime this spring.
House Panel Hears from PG&E on the Impact of Wildfires on the Nation’s Power Sector
On January 28th, the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee held an oversight hearing on the impact that wildfires have had on the environment and the U.S. power sector. Democrats on the panel, including Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), pointed to climate change as the primary culprit for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in recent years. Additionally, panel Democrats acknowledged that inadequate forest management practices, coupled with the rapid expansion of communities in the wildland-urban interface, can be contributing factors. For their part, GOP lawmakers largely steered clear of the debate on climate change and stressed the need for forestry reforms.
While climate change and forest management were broadly discussed, the hearing also focused on the human causes of fire, such as downed power lines, that can pose a significant risks. In the wake of the deadly 2018 Camp Fire, which was started by transmission lines owned by PG&E, Committee Chairman Pallone urged electric utilities to do more to ensure that their systems are modernized and maintained to prevent sparking future wildfires. When more drastic preventative measures must be taken, such as planned power shutoffs, Pallone stressed the importance of minimizing the impact on customers.
Five witnesses appeared before the panel, including PG&E CEO and President William Johnson. Johnson apologized for PG&E’s role in the Camp Fire and vowed to help damaged communities recover and rebuild. According to his testimony, more than 50 percent of the company’s service area is currently designated as a high-fire threat by the California Public Utilities Commission and CAL FIRE. This is up from just 15 percent seven years ago, a growing threat that he largely attributes to climate change. In addition, PG&E estimates that there are more than 100 million trees adjacent to its overhead power lines with the potential to either grow into or fall onto power lines. Finally, Johnson summarized the steps that the utility is taking to address the wildfire threat.
More information on the hearing, including a committee memo and witness testimony can be found here.
Supreme Court Decides that Public Charge Rule May Proceed
On January 27th, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration may proceed, for now, with implementation of its “public charge” rule, which allows immigration officials to consider the receipt of Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/CalFresh) benefits, federal housing assistance and other non-cash benefits when determining whether a legal immigrant may revise or extend her/his immigration status. In a 5-4 ruling, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that granting extraordinary relief was related to the “increasingly common practice” of trial courts issuing injunctions of nationwide scope in response to specific Trump administration policies. While timing for enforcing the rule is not yet public, the Court’s decision allows the Department of Homeland Security to use the new rule until the pending legal challenges wind their way through the lower courts. It should be noted that the rule is still blocked in Illinois, where a more limited, statewide injunction remains in place.
CMS Unveils New Medicaid Block Grant Option
On January 30th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that states may request a Medicaid demonstration grant to cap funding to serve able-bodied adults covered as part of the Affordable Care Act’s expansion population. A ‘Healthy Adult Opportunity’ waiver would provide a capped amount of federal funding over five years to serve single individuals. In return, states would have more flexibility to serve those individuals. More information can be found here.
CSAC Finalizing Comments on Administration’s Medicaid Financing Rule
As the Legislative Bulletin went to press, CSAC was in the process of finalizing its comments on a sweeping proposal advanced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that would restrict the way states and counties finance the nonfederal share of Medicaid/Medi-Cal. In short, the rule would make it much more difficult for counties and states to use Intergovernmental Transfers (IGTs), Certified Public Expenditures (CPE’s), and provider taxes as eligible revenues to match the federal share of the program. In addition, the regulation would require states and counties to report their financing mechanisms much more frequently and would give the federal government wider administrative discretion when reviewing and approving them.
House Democrats Unveil Draft Climate Bill
On January 28th, Democratic leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee unveiled a draft climate change package – the Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation’s (CLEAN) Future Act – that would achieve net-zero greenhouse gas pollution by 2050. The 622-page proposal includes a number of ambitious reforms that would fall within the committee’s jurisdiction, such as a federal clean energy standard. Among other things, the plan would create a Clean Energy Credit Trading Program that would allow entities to buy, sell, and trade credits to demonstrate compliance with their obligations. It also would require utilities to obtain all of their power from “clean” energy sources by 2050.
The leadership proposal is not meant to be a final product. Instead, it was publicly released to spur feedback from environmental and industry groups, individual companies, and other House Democrats. The full draft can be accessed here, and a section-by-section summary can be found here. In an attempt to solicit feedback and recommendations from stakeholders, the panel is expected to hold hearings throughout the year. In the meantime, stakeholders are welcome to submit comments to CleanFuture@mail.house.gov.