Update from Washington, D.C.
House Conducts First Public Impeachment Hearing; Budget Deliberations Continue at Slow Pace
November 14, 2019
The House returned to the nation’s capital following the Veteran’s Day holiday to continue its investigation into whether President Trump committed an impeachable offense. For their part, Democrats are attempting to make the case that Trump put pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to look into former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s ties to a Ukrainian energy company. Moreover, Democrats have accused the president of withholding U.S. military aid for a politically motivated probe into the Biden family.
While a formal investigation into the allegations began in September, the impeachment inquiry entered a new phase this week as the House Intelligence Committee conducted its first public hearing on the matter. On November 13, the panel received testimony from William Taylor, the top U.S. envoy to Ukraine, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent. The committee is scheduled to hear from former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch on November 15.
In other news, top appropriators in both chambers met this week to discuss how to move forward with the fiscal year 2020 budget. Despite being six weeks into the new fiscal year, Congress has yet to finalize any of the 12 annual spending bills. With the latest continuing resolution (CR) set to expire on November 21, congressional leaders will need to rely on another stopgap funding measure to avoid a government shutdown. In fact, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) recently announced that the chamber will take up a CR next week that will continue to fund the government through December 20. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has not made a similar proclamation, but there is a strong desire among lawmakers to avoid a government shutdown before the holidays.
While another CR gives Congress a few more weeks to negotiate fiscal year 2020 spending levels, the Trump administration’s $8.6 billion request for the border wall remains the biggest impediment to completing a deal. However, once the issue is resolved, House and Senate leaders are confident they can come to an agreement on the rest of the budget in short order.
In other developments this week, the Senate voted along party lines to approve the nomination of Chad Wolf to serve as undersecretary for strategy, policy, and plans at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Democrats opposed Wolf’s nomination in part due to his role in policies that led to the separation of migrant families while serving as chief of staff to former DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Following the vote, Wolf was sworn in as the new acting secretary of DHS. It should be noted that his confirmation to serve as undersecretary was a necessary legal hurdle for him to lead the department in an acting capacity. It was also announced that acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ken Cuccinelli will take over as acting deputy secretary.
In related news, the Senate Homeland Security Committee held a hearing this week on the nomination of Peter Gaynor to be the next administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Gaynor, who was unanimously confirmed last year to serve as FEMA’s deputy administrator, is currently leading the agency in an acting capacity. In addition, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee met this week for a hearing to consider the nomination of Dan Brouillette to be the next energy secretary. If ultimately confirmed, Brouillette would take over for Rick Perry, who plans to step down on December 1.
CSAC Urges Congress to Pass Family First Legislation
This week, CSAC – along with the County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA) – sent correspondence to key committee leaders in support of bipartisan legislation (HR 4980; S 2777) that would help ease the transition toward implementation of the Family First Prevention and Services Act (FFPSA). The FFPSA, which was cleared by Congress in 2018 (PL 115-123), complicated California’s efforts to reform the state’s child welfare system via the Continuum of Care Reforms enacted under AB 403. In addition, and of particular concern to a number of counties in California, the new law did not address the imminent expiration of federal child welfare (Title IV-E) waivers.
Since the law’s enactment, CSAC and other county partners have worked closely with committee staff to develop the appropriately titled Family First Transition Act, which would provide California with approximately $52 million in flexible funding for counties to use over the next two years prior to full implementation of the FFPSA. The bill also would provide two more years of funding for those counties operating federal child welfare waivers (which expired on September 30), albeit at a slightly lower level of reimbursement.
Looking ahead, there is an effort underway to attach the Family First Transition Act to a larger, must-pass legislative vehicle. In the meantime, and in an effort to build support, CSAC has urged members of the California congressional delegation to cosponsor the measure.