Update from Washington, D.C. 06/21/2013
With the Fourth of July recess rapidly approaching, Congress has
been busy working to move several key pieces of legislation
before the break. Chief among these high-priority measures is a
comprehensive Senate immigration bill as well as a House farm
policy bill.
Also on the agenda the week of June 17 was House consideration of
a highly controversial abortion measure (HR 1797), which would
ban abortions after 20 weeks of a woman’s pregnancy. After a
spirited floor debate, the House approved the bill on a mostly
party-line vote.
The Senate continued its debate this week on a comprehensive
immigration reform bill (S 744). Senators voted 54-43 to table an
amendment by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) that would have required
a $5 billion authorization for infrastructure improvements, more
border agents, and the construction of additional border ports to
create a fully secure border. After the vote against the Cornyn
amendment, Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and John Hoeven (R-ND)
released their own compromise border security amendment in hopes
of winning over more GOP senators and attracting some Democratic
lawmakers.
Across Capitol Hill, it is still unclear whether the House will
consider its own comprehensive immigration reform measure or
proceed with an incremental approach. Judiciary Committee
Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) has indicated his preference for
moving several piecemeal measures, but he also has encouraged a
group of bipartisan House lawmakers to continue working on a
comprehensive bill.
For his part, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has indicated
that he would not bring immigration legislation to the floor
unless a majority of Republicans have pledged to support it.
On June 18, the Judiciary Committee voted 20-15, along party
lines, to approve legislation (HR 2278) that would give local
governments more authority over immigration enforcement.
Democrats on the committee opposed the measure, arguing that it
would criminalize millions of undocumented immigrants and would
allow states to pass their own immigration laws. Immigration
reform advocates in Congress are concerned that this would revive
the conflict over strict state laws and could lead to racial
profiling.
Notably, HR 2278 includes a provision that would shift
jurisdiction of the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program
(SCAAP) from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS). It also would reimburse local
jurisdictions for the costs of housing undocumented criminals who
are accused of certain crimes – and not only convicted of such
offenses, as is allowed for under the current statute. Finally,
the provision would authorize “such sums as may be necessary” for
SCAAP in fiscal year 2014 and each subsequent year.
In other news, the Senate on June 10 approved its farm bill
reauthorization, with the support of Senators Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA). The legislation (S 954), which
was approved by the Agriculture Committee on May 14, would
reauthorize a broad range of agricultural and food assistance
programs through 2018. Before final passage, the Senate agreed to
an amendment that would help expand high-speed internet access to
rural areas.
In a surprise development, the House was unable to approve its
own farm bill rewrite (HR 1947), as lawmakers rejected the
measure by a vote of 195-234. The level of cuts to the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) continued to be
a sticking point throughout the debate. The House bill would
reduce the program by $20.5 billion over the next ten years, as
opposed to a $4 billion cut included in the Senate-passed bill.
The final straw for many Democrats came after the House adopted
an amendment allowing states to impose work requirements on SNAP
recipients.
On the appropriations front, the House Appropriations Committee
has cleared four of the 12 spending bills for the next fiscal
year, which begins October 1. The full House has approved two
fiscal year 2014 funding bills, Homeland Security and Military
Construction-Veterans Affairs.
On June 19, a subcommittee panel approved a draft spending bill
that would provide $44.1 billion in discretionary spending for
the Department of Transportation, as well as the Department of
Housing and Urban Development. The legislation provides $44.1
billion in discretionary spending – a reduction of $7.7 billion
below the fiscal year 2013 enacted level and $13.9 billion below
the president’s budget request. The proposed spending is
approximately $4.4 billion below the post-sequestration
level.
Among other things, the measure would fund the Federal Highway
program at $41 billion, or the same level of funding authorized
under MAP-21. This represents an increase of $557 million over
the fiscal year 2013 level. The legislation also would provide a
total of nearly $2 billion for the Federal Transit
Administration, which is more than $329 million below the fiscal
year 2013 enacted level.
In the area of housing and community development, the bill would
cut a number of programs, including the Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) formula program. Under the bill, CDBG would be
funded at $1.6 billion, or a decrease of $1.3 billion in
funding.
In a related development, the Senate Appropriations Committee
approved June 20 on a party-line vote its spending allocations
for fiscal year 2014. The panel set an overall spending limit of
$1.058 trillion, which is $91 billion above the House allocation.
Differences between the two chamber’s top-line figures will
likely complicate final passage of a new fiscal year 2014 budget.