Congress Talks CR, Appropriations, and Sequester

Posted on July 19, 2012October 17, 2012

FY 2013 Continuing Resolution: Several Republican lawmakers are advocating for an early vote on a stopgap spending bill for FY 2013 that would keep the government running into early next year, leaving contentious funding decisions for the next Congress. Most believe they are betting that they’ll have more power next year – possible control of the Senate and the White House – and will be in a better position to force deeper spending cuts. In a letter circulated by Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), and signed by 20 members of the House and Senate, lawmakers said they would try before the August recess to clear a continuing resolution (CR) at a “fiscally responsible” level that would avert a new standoff over a potential government shutdown in the fall. Conservatives may support at CR at roughly the current annual spending level of $1.043 trillion if it extended into the next session of Congress, offering a temporary cease fire in the House GOP’s current efforts to cut $15 billion from discretionary spending through the FY 2013 appropriations process. Regardless of this new effort, no decisions are likely before September. Few Democrats are likely to back a CR that extends beyond December. You can read the Republicans letter here.

L-HHS-ED Appropriations: On Wednesday, the House L-HHS-ED Appropriations Subcommittee approved their FY 2013 draft spending bill mostly along party lines 8-6. The bill would provide a total of $150 billion in discretionary funding, which is $6.3 billion below FY 2012 levels and $8.8 billion less the President’s request. Much of the House panel’s debate centered on the bill’s health provisions and primarily on GOP efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but Democrat’s efforts to restore that funding fell short. Congressman Norm Dicks (D-WA) also offered an amendment that would have removed GOP-supported language that would rescind funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and National Public Radio.

Sequester: Also on Wednesday, House lawmakers approved legislation that would force the Administration to detail how automatic budget cuts due early next year would be implemented. The bill (HR 5872) would require the White House to produce a report within 30 days explaining how the $109 billion in cuts scheduled to take effect January 2, 2013 would affect both domestic and defense programs. The Senate passed similar legislation in June, but that plan calls for more detailed reports from the Defense Department, the Office of Management and Budget, and the White House on the cuts. It’s unclear how the issue will be resolved between the House and Senate bills. The Senate could back the House bill, but it’s unclear if Democrats leaders, who pushed for the version that requires more detail about the impact on domestic cuts, will allow it to come up. Lawmakers would prefer to have a deal in place before the August recess, so they can have the information when they return in September to argue for averting the sequester.

Education Provisions in House L-HHS-Ed Bill

Posted on July 17, 2012October 17, 2012

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education released their draft FY 2013 appropriations bill this morning, with plans of a Subcommittee markup tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10:00am eastern time. Highlights include:

Pell Grants – The maximum Pell Grant award is increased to $5,635, mostly due to an authorized mandatory cost-of-living adjustment.

Corporation for Public Broadcasting – The bill gradually phases out funding for the CPB over the next two fiscal years. CPB traditionally receives advance appropriations for two years, but this bill rescinds part of the funding previously provided for FY13 and FY14 and provides no funds for FY15.

Program Integrity, Federal College Student Aid Programs: Prohibits any use of funds towards Department of Education regulations to address program integrity for institutions participating in federal student aid programs, including minimum standards for debt loads and repayment by former students.

Prospective Student Disclosure, Federal College Student Aid Programs: Prohibits any use of funds towards Department of Education regulations that would require participating institutions to disclose to prospective students their programs’ on-time graduation, job placement rates, median student loan debt and other requirements that would aid in the decision making process.

National Public Radio – Prohibits the use of funds to acquire programs from or otherwise support NPR.

FY 2013 Labor-HHS-ED Draft Bill

Posted on July 17, 2012October 17, 2012

The House Appropriations Committee this morning released their draft FY 2013 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education (LHHS) Appropriations bill, which will be considered in subcommittee tomorrow morning (Wednesday). As expected, the draft bill includes $150 billion in discretionary funding, which is $6.3 billion below last year’s level and $8.8 billion below the President’s budget request.

Health and Human Services: The Department of Health and Human Services receives a total of $68.3 billion, a reduction of $1.3 billion below last year’s level and $1.8 billion below the President’s budget request. Hightlights include:

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) – The bill provides HRSA with $5.9 billion in new discretionary budget authority, which is $453 million below last year’s level and $315 million below the President’s budget request.
- Community Health Centers are funded at $1.5 billion – the same as last year’s level. This includes a rescission of $300 million in previous-year funding that was provided under the Affordable Care Act for this program.
- The bill also provides $623 million in total funding for health professions training, including $275 million for the Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education program. The President requested only $88 million for this essential program. In addition, the bill includes $139 million for rural health programs, an increase of $1.4 million above last year, and eliminates funding for the Family Planning Program.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – The legislation includes an appropriation level of $5.75 billion for the CDC – $66 million above the FY 2012 level. Further, the bill allows for an additional $126.5 million for the CDC by reducing the ability of HHS to divert funds away from CDC programs.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) – The bill includes $30.6 billion for the NIH, which is the same as last year’s level and the President’s request.
- Within this funding, the legislation includes $175 million for the National Children’s Study, $488 million for Clinical and Translational Sciences Awards, and $376 million for Institutional Development Awards (IDeA) programs.
- This funding will support 16,670 training research awards – the pipeline of support for future researchers. The legislation also includes language to ensure the NIH support only research projects that are highly meritorious, based on peer review processes, and that continue the agency’s historical unbiased position toward specific diseases.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) – The bill funds SAMHSA at $3.1 billion, which is $194 million below last year’s level and $1.2 million above the President’s budget request. Within this funding, criminal justice activities, such as drug courts, receive an increase of $5 million over last year for a total of $72.3 million, and the Substance Abuse Block Grant for states and localities receives $1.73 billion, an increase of $10 million.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – The recommendation provides $3.5 billion for CMS management and operations (“Program Management”), which is $409 million below the FY 2012 enacted level and $1.4 billion below the President’s request. The bill does not include additional funding to implement Affordable Care Act programs and prohibits funds for the new Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.

The Office of Federal Relations will post more as we continue to read through the draft legislation.

Read the subcommittee draft text of the FY 2013 LHHS Appropriations bill.

Read the House Appropriations Committee press release.

Sequester “Line in the Sand” Bills

Posted on July 17, 2012October 17, 2012

Senate Democrats are warning that they will not agree to a deal to stop across-the-board spending cuts early next year (sequester) without new revenue gained by ending tax breaks on the wealthiest Americans. To that end, they circulated a draft bill yesterday that would spare most Americans from higher tax rates that are due to take effect on January 1, 2013, but the bill would allow the Bush tax cuts to expire on annual household income greater than $250,000 and raise the rate on dividends and capital gains from the current 15 percent to 20 percent. The Senate will vote before the August recess on the Democrats’ tax bill, which also would preserve current tax rates on household income under $250,000 and individual income under $200,000. The House Republicans plan their own vote this month to extend all of the Bush-era tax cuts. But the votes in both chambers will be symbolic, as neither party will be able to get the 60 votes needed to advance its plan in the Senate.

Both measures are seen as “lines in the sand” for the big negotiation that will take place after the November elections during the “lame duck” session that will include new rounds of negotiations on the many large fiscal issues facing the country, including the broad array of expiring tax cuts and automatic across-the-board spending reductions known as the sequester.

Indeed, US Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) said Monday her party would allow ALL current tax rates to expire on December 31^strather than accept a deal with Republicans for averting the sequester that doesn’t include additional revenue from more affluent Americans. “If we can’t get a good deal, a balanced deal that calls on the wealthy to pay their fair share, then I will absolutely continue this debate into 2013, rather than lock in a long-term deal this year that throws middle-class families under the bus,” Murray said in a speech yesterday.

House L-HHS-Ed Mark Up

Posted on July 12, 2012October 17, 2012

The House is likely to mark up their Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill on July 18, although no official announcement has been made. The $150 billion bill is the only one of the 12 annual spending bills not yet approved by House appropriators. At $150 billion, the measure would be about $7 billion below current spending.