The House Appropriations subcommittee marked up the FY 2017 Labor-H appropriations measure today. The legislation includes funding for programs within the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and other related agencies. No report language has been released, so details of the bill will likely remain unclear until full committee consideration next week.
Full committee markup of the bill is scheduled for Wednesday, July 13, at 10:00 a.m. EDT in 2359 Rayburn House Office Building.
The measure would increase funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to $33.3 billion, an increase of $1.25 billion above the FY16 level, but does not include the Senate bill’s funding to restore the year-round Pell Grant. The bill includes a provision to prohibit the Department of Labor from implementing its new overtime rule.
Highlights of accounts of note include:
NIH
The $33.3 billion in NIH funding includes $165 million for the National Children’s Study, $511.5 million for Clinical and Translational Sciences Awards, and $333.3 million for Institutional Development Awards (IDeA) programs. Other details include:
$1.26 billion, a $350 million increase, for the Alzheimer’s disease research initiative;
$195 million, a $45 million increase, for the Brain Research through Application of Innovative Neuro-technologies (BRAIN) initiative; and
$300 million for the Precision Medicine Initiative.
The bill also maintains the salary cap on external NIH grants at Executive Level II of the Federal Executive pay scale.
Higher Education
The Pell Grant maximum award would be increased to $5,935 through a combination of discretionary and mandatory funds, which is the same as the Administration’s request and the Senate bill. The bill also would prohibit the Department of Education from moving ahead on regulations on teacher preparation, defining “gainful employment” and “credit hour,” and how states license institutions of higher education.
The Senate committee-passed bill funds NIH at $34 billion, a $2 billion increase, and uses part of the Pell Grant program surplus to restore the year-round Pell Grant.
Federal Relations will continue to update as we learn more details.
Today, the House and Senate aviation committee leaders from both parties agreed on a reauthorization of aviation programs through Sept. 30, 2017, at current funding levels. The current authorization (PL 114-141) expires July 15. The measure includes provisions designed to reduce the risk of drone accidents and establishes a process for the FAA to designate drone no-fly zones. Of note for frequent fliers, the bill boosts airport security and includes provisions aimed at reducing screeing lines.
Both the House and Senate are back this week to resume work after the 4 of July work period. The upper and lower chambers have less that two full weeks for business (the House has nine legislative days to the Senate’s seven) before both recess for seven weeks (which will contain two massive nominating conventions and the traditional August Recess) returning after Labor Day.
The House is back today, Tuesday, to consider an anti-terrorism package that includes a measure aimed at barring suspected terrorists from buying guns. Speaker Ryan announced that the House will consider the measure last week, much to the chagrin of his caucus as well as the derision of House Democrats. Regardless, the House Republican’s number one priority — restoring order to appropriations process — has failed miserably.
Only one measure, the FY 2017 Mil-Con bill, has a chance of being passed through both chambers. Yet, due to maneuvers to connect supplemental Zika funding, the normally uncontroversial measure is under extreme pressure and unlikely to pass precisely due to the attachment of the Zika funding which has garnered veto threats. The White House is insisting on $1.9 billion, and threatening to veto any measure which fails to provide that amount — neither the House nor Senate has provided the Administration with its full request . However, none of the other 11 annual spending bills have passed both the House and Senate in various versions so as to get to a conference committee.
Given these challenges, lawmakers are starting to consider the mode and means for a Continuing Resolution (CR) to avoid a government shutdown this Fall. Of course a CR, a fairly common funding measure in September, is not without challenges. There is controversy between lawmakers as to when to end the CR — after the election, until the Spring for the next president, or for the whole FY 2017 year.
The Senate returns Wednesday to consider a host of different issues including legislation to end sanctuary cities and increase minimum sentences for those who reenter the country after being removed. From there the Senate is expected to consider a bill to establish federal standards for genetically modified food labeling. Finally, a cloture vote on the Fy 2017 Defense appropriations bill has been queued up. While this bill has already endured a host of potential problems, its finally passage will be made more complicated by the Pentagon’s announcement Thursday to allow transgendered service members to openly serve.
Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.
Um…Unseemly? –As the Obama Administration cracks down on for-profit colleges, three former officials working on behalf of an investment firm run by President Barack Obama’s best friend have staged a behind-the-scenes campaign to get the Education Department to green-light a purchase of the biggest for-profit of them all — the University of Phoenix. Read more in Politico.
Stone Preservation – Senate Extension (AOC)
Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt – In a 5-3 decision, the Supreme Court struck down the State of Texas’ requirements that abortion clinics meet certain safety standards and that providers be affiliated with nearby hospitals. Read more at Roll Call.
Hold Up – Stop what you are doing—now!—and wait for more discussion and instruction. That’s the blunt message that a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee on reforming federal regulation of U.S. research sent today to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other government agencies. In one part of a wide-ranging report on ways to reduce research red tape, the panel calls on U.S. agencies to abandon a controversial proposal to update rules that protect human research participants, then wait for the president and Congress to create a new high-level commission to recommend improvements. Read more at Science.
Entrepnots – When Hillary Clinton unveiled a proposal to reduce the student-loan burden on entrepreneurs, higher-education policy wonks responded with a collective eyeroll. The proposal, part of a technology platform the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee announced on Tuesday, would allow entrepreneurs — and, possibly, their first few employees — to defer payment on their student loans for three years. It would also offer those starting businesses in “distressed communities” or those who form “social enterprises that provide measurable social impact and benefit” up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness after five years. Read more at The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Trade is Garbage –Donald Trump gave a speech this week revealing his “jobs plan,” which is essentially to force renegotiations of trade deals. Read more in Politico.
Silver’s Blessing – Number’s guru, Nate Silver, predicts that Clinton will win by 79 percent in a general election. Read more in Politico.
Now For Something Really Important – What industry might be most impacted by the Brexit? The British specialty food industry, namely booze and cheese. With Brexit, British competitors could potentially imitate foods these foods – including Melton Mowbray Pork Pies and Yorkshire Rhubarb – and sell them for less. Read more at NPR’s Marketplace.
Liberal Arts –American undergraduates are flocking to business programs, and finding plenty of entry-level opportunities. Students are clamoring for degrees that will help them secure jobs in a shifting economy, but to succeed in the long term, but businesses require an individuals with an education that allows them to grow, adapt, and contribute as citizens—and to build successful careers. Read more in The Atlantic.
Most Likely To… – While Senator Elizabeth Warren is one of the most talked about possibilities for Secretary Clinton’s Vice President, there are several other individuals, both well-known and no so, that have a chance. Read more in The Hill.
More Legal Than Illegal – In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court threw out the corruption case against former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell, who had accepted more than $175,000 in gifts and loans from Johnnie R. Williams Jr., the CEO of a dietary supplement company looking to do business with the commonwealth of Virginia. Although McDonnell made calls and set up meetings for him, the court ruled that these did not constitute “official acts” under federal statute and that the prosecution’s interpretation of bribery law was “boundless.” Prosecutors had failed to prove he had done favors for a wealthy donor that he might not have done for any constituent. Read more in Governing.
SCOTUS 2016 – Who are the winners and losers in this year’s Supreme Court decisions? Vox takes a look.
Eur(He)ka! – Experts have been warning of a looming shortage of helium for years, as the known reserves are being depleted. Now British researchers have discovered a large reserve of helium gas in Tanzania, using a new exploration method that offers hope for the future. Read more in Gizmodo.
History Repeating? – Brexit + Donald Trump / John Oliver = A Lesson in THERE ARE NO DO OVERS. Read more at Slate.
Explosive Finale – Game of Thrones ended it’s sixth season this week with a revealing and shocking episode. Slate has a salute to Margaery Tyrell, one of the strongest and most morally interesting characters on the show, and the ONLY ONE to figure out that Cersei was up to something. Read more in Slate.
The Senate blocked a plan Tuesday to spend $1.1. billion to fight the Zika virus, as Democrats objected to added provisions that would limit funding for birth control, allow pesticide spraying near water sources, and raise the Confederate flag. Democrats asserted there were not included in the conference negotiation process to craft the conference report.
The Senate failed invoke cloture on the conference report for an appropriations package containing $1.1 billion to combat the Zika virus and $82.5 billion in FY 2017 Military Construction-VA discretionary spending.
Sixty votes were needed to cut off debate and move toward a final vote on the House-passed conference report, which faced a presidential veto if it passed. It’s unclear if House and Senate negotiators will resume work to write a new measure that is acceptable to both chambers and the White House, following bitter exchanges between Democrats and Republicans during the past few days.
