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Category: On the Hill

Senate Fails to Pass Extenders for the Third Time

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On Thursday, Senate Democrats failed for a third time to pass a jobs and economic relief bill (tax extenders bill).  Republicans rejected the $100 billion-plus package, which included payments to states to cover for Medicaid costs and an extension of unemployment benefits.  This latest version of the bill reduced the original $24 billion in new state assistance for Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP) to just $16 billion and also included a phase out of payments altogether. The smaller FMAP payments were also fully paid for with offsets.  Unfortunately, that was not enough to attract the 60 votes necessary and the measure failed 57-41.  Both Senators Murray and Cantwell supported the measure.

Individual portions of the bill may be revived, especially given the almost 1.2 million unemployed workers who are currently living without unemployment benefits.  The FMAP payments are also critical to roughly 29 states – including Washington State – as they have all included these anticipated funds in their current budgets. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has expressed great frustration with yet another failure to pass this measure and announced he would pull the bill from the floor and turn to other legislation. 

The Senate will go home at the end of next week for the July Fourth recess period.  When they return, it is expected that they will focus their debate on energy policy, including legislation related to off-shore oil drilling. They will break again on August 6th for a 5-week period.  Unless there is a major breakthrough with those opposed to the bill, Reid seems prepared to wait until after Labor Day before trying again on the extenders bill.

Energy & Climate Action Remains Uncertain

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The Gulf oil spill continues to complicate negotiations on a legislative pathway for energy and climate legislation.  While many agree, including the President, that Congress must take action on an energy bill this year, several moderate senators remain unconvinced that a climate bill can garner the necessary votes in the Senate.  The Senate continues to discuss potential measure that would include provisions such as renewable energy incentives and standards, energy efficiency improvements, revisions to offshore oil and gas policies, and may also include climate change language that regulates greenhouse gas emissions.  

The House passed a combined energy and climate measure (HR 2454) last year.  But that bill and other proposals have stalled in the Senate.  President Obama cited the House measure in his televised speech from the Oval Office on Tuesday evening but he did not specifically mention action to combat greenhouse gas emissions.  Today, the Senate Democratic Caucus plans to discuss prospects for action this year on energy and climate bills.

Multiple proposals, or portions of those proposals, are on the table for discussion.  Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) successfully moved an energy policy bill (S 1462) out of his committee last year that includes a renewable electricity generation standard, offshore oil production allowances, and other standard energy policy revisions.  Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) are pushing for their climate change proposal, which has not yet been introduced.   The Kerry-Lieberman measure adds nuclear power and state offshore oil and gas revenue-sharing incentives in an attempt to garner Republican support.  Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced their version of a climate proposal (S 2877) last year, which proposes a “cap and dividend” solution as opposed to the more common “cap and trade” option.  Finally, Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) recently introduced yet another energy and climate research bill (S 3464).  Except for the Lugar proposal, all the measures were crafted and unveiled prior to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The Office of Federal Relations has reviewed all the current proposals and will monitor the process closely if the Senate does decide to move forward on energy and/or climate legislation this year.

Congress Returns to Unfinished Business

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Congress returns this week from its one-week Memorial Day recess with the Senate ready to take up the House-passed “extenders” bill, while the House determines their next move on the FY10 supplemental bill.

Tax Extenders:  The tax extenders measure (HR 4213) under consideration in the Senate includes a number of important program authorities that expired over the recess period, including authority for long-term unemployment benefits and provisions preventing a scheduled 21 percent cut in Medicare reimbursement rates to doctors.  The House narrowly passed the measure on May 28 just hours before leaving for its Memorial Day break.

The most important provision to the State of Washington is the “emergency” provision that would have extended for another six months increased federal aid for joint federal-state Medicaid programs (FMAP).  Because states lag behind national recovery, they expect 2011 to be as bad as 2010, and states will not begin the path to recovery until 2012.  The Senate is under pressure to include this provision in their version of the bill.

Supplemental Budget:  House action on the FY10 supplemental appears unlikely this week, as Democratic leaders have not yet agreed on a strategy to move the bill forward.  The supplemental provides funds for ongoing efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as funds to assist with the oil spill response in the Gulf.  The House bill would also include $23 billion to prevent layoffs of teachers when special aid from the stimulus runs out, as well as $5.6 billion to fill the Pell Grant shortfall. 

The Senate took action on this measure before the Memorial Day recess, but their version of the bill does not include the $23 billion education jobs package or $5.6 billion to cover the projected shortfall in the Pell Grant program.  The measure being developed by House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-WI) is expected to include both provisions, but public higher education would not be included in the education jobs bill, nor would the state maintenance of effort (MOE) provision apply to higher education.  As pointed out in a May 27 higher education association letter to Mr. Obey, the latter provision could leave public institutions vulnerable to cuts as states strive to meet the K-12 MOE requirement. 

Budget and Appropriations:  Democrats this week will continue their efforts to pass a FY11 budget or deeming resolution in order to begin drafting and passing the annual appropriations bills.  Senate Budget Committee Chairman has indicated plans to push for passage of a five-year budget resolution in the Senate by the Independence Day recess.

Environment and Energy:  The BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill continues to dominate the congressional calendar, with at least three hearings scheduled for this week.  The Senate is likely to vote Thursday on a long-awaited resolution introduced by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) that would strip the EPA of its regulatory power over carbon emissions.  The resolution has 41 co-sponsors, including three Democrats. The measure needs 51 votes for passage.

The climate and energy bill sponsored by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) will also be on the Senate’s agenda during the month of July.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) wrote in a letter to committee leaders last week that he wants them to offer legislative language related to the oil spill before the Independence Day recess for inclusion in a comprehensive energy bill that will be debated on the floor in June.  

Ocean Acidification Resolution:  On Tuesday, the House will consider a resolution introduced by Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA) that calls for the United States to adopt national policies and pursue international agreements to prevent ocean acidification, to study the impacts of ocean acidification, and to address the effects of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems and coastal economies.  House Resolution 989 was first introduced by Inslee in December 2009 and currently has 53 co-sponsors, including Congressmen Brian Baird (D-WA), Norm Dicks (D-WA), and Adam Smith (D-WA). 

Science and Engineering Festival:  The USA Science & Engineering, the country’s first national science festival, will be held on the National Mall October 3-24, 2010. The National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council are official festival partners. The expo will give more than 500 US science and engineering organizations the opportunity to present a hands-on science activity to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.  Learn more about the Festival.

Update: Retirement, Budget, and Disaster Relief

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The retirement of House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) will mark a change in the Democratic leadership of one of Congress’ most powerful committees.  Our own Congressman Norm Dicks (D-WA) appears to be the lead candidate to replace Obey as the top Democrat on Appropriations in the next Congress.  Currently the second-ranking Democrat on the full committee, Dicks has been on the panel since the mid-1970s but didn’t assume the chairmanship of a subcommittee (Interior-Environment) until 2007 when Democrats regained control of the House after 12 years of Republican control. He moved to Chair the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee earlier this year after the death of Congressman Murtha (D-PA). Dicks expressed an interest in chairing the full committee, as well as keeping his current spot on Defense, but the biggest challenge for Democrats is to retain their majority in this fall’s elections. The selection of committee and subcommittee chairmen is made by the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee and must be ratified by the full Democratic Caucus.  This process will begin after November and into the New Year.

House Democratic leaders are meeting today to discuss whether they will move an FY11 budget resolution.  Unfortunately, there had been no appreciable movement toward an agreement on the budget and few expect that to change with today’s meeting.  Obey’s retirement may not have any impact on this year’s appropriations process, which was already facing an unsettled state. Most Members of Congress don’t expect many spending bills to be enacted before the November elections, and there has been talk of the possibility that fewer still may be considered on the House floor. Democrats still haven’t decided whether or not they will move a budget resolution, which would set top-line discretionary funding for the year, because of a disagreement within the Democratic Caucus on whether non-security discretionary spending should be cut.

Meanwhile, Senate leaders may soon decide whether to separately move the FEMA disaster supplemental bill along with aid to the Gulf Coast as opposed to waiting to deal with this issue via the war supplemental measure. Before the oil spill, the House approved HR 4899, a bill making emergency supplemental appropriations for disaster relief and summer jobs, which is intended to replenish funding for FEMA.    When asked about a possible vehicle for providing federal aid for the Gulf Coast oil spill, the Hawaii Democrat referenced the House-passed bill (HR 4899) to replenish FEMA’s depleted disaster relief funding. A complicating factor for providing aid for the oil spill through this bill is that actual needs are not yet known since the event in the Gulf is still unfolding. The House has suggested that they will hold off on moving the war supplemental until other funding needs were known, including for the Gulf Coast.

Immigration Reform Framework Released

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Despite the absence of any support from the minority party, which will be necessary to advance a bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and two of his colleagues — Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) — have released a rough framework for comprehensive immigration reform. The outline serves as a starting point for public discussions and negotiations on a comprehensive package, and should not viewed as actual legislation. Political observers remain skeptical of the prospects for immigration reforming passing in the partisan atmosphere that exists in advance of a mid-term election.

In its current form, the outline contains a number of provisions and addresses issues of interest to the academic and higher education communities, such as reform of the H-1B visa process that has come under fire for obstructing efforts to retain and attract highly skilled labor (i.e. research scientitst) from abroad.

Reid-Schumer-Menendez Immigration Reform Outline