In a Statement of Administration Policy issued by the Office of Management and Budget, the White House issued a veto threat on the Senate NDAA and contends the legislation would “hinder” the administration from executing defense and foreign policy.
“Specifically, the bill attempts to micromanage DoD by impeding the department’s ability to respond to changing circumstances, directing overly prescriptive organizational changes, preventing the closure of Guantanamo and limiting U.S. engagement with Cuba, and includes provisions that set an arbitrary limit on the size of the president’s National Security Council staff,” the White House said.
The veto threat comes during the second full day of Senate floor debate on the annual policy bill.
Today, the Senate appropriations subcommittee approved the first bipartisan Labor-H funding bill since Obamacare became law more than six years ago.
The Senate’s FY 2017 bill includes a $2 billion increase for NIH (the same as the FY 2016 increase), a near doubling of funding to fight the opioid epidemic to $261 million, and $7.1 billion for CDC – $76 million more than the White House requested. Additionally, the Pell grant program would be expanded allowing students to access Pell over the summer. The expansion would allow roughly a million students to receive a second grant to take a third semester of classes, usually in the summer, helping them to graduate sooner. The students would also be expected to graduate with less debt, as the average recipient would be expected to see $1,650 more in aid. Additionally, the Senate bill would allow students to receive the additional Pell Grant even if they only attended school part-time. In the Administration’s FY 2017 budget proposal, the White House proposed an expansion to summer Pell, but would limit year-round Pell only to full-time students.
The legislation does not include any new restrictions on funding for the Affordable Care Act, which has been one of the key obstacles to a bipartisan funding bill in recent years. Additionally, the legislation also avoided cuts to Title X women’s health and family planning programs, which have been the source of partisan battles in recent years.
The full Senate Appropriations committee will mark up the legislation on Thursday morning.
Federal Relations will continue to monitor the legislation and will post as more information becomes available.
The House and Senate return to work this week in what will be the largest number of consecutive legislative days prior to the August Recess. Both legislative bodies will push pause and briefly come together for a joint session to receive Indian Prime Minister Modi.
The Senate returns today to resume consideration on its FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, which was slightly detoured last week. The Senate Appropriations Committee to have full consideration of the FY 2017 Labor-H Appropriations bill this week — subcommittee will mark up Tuesday and full committee will consider Thursday. The Labor-H bill contains many of the issues that the higher education community is concerned about including student loans, Pell grants, Perkins, and NIH funding among others. The bill is currently in a close hold, but it is expected to expand the Pell grant program to become year round.
More information will be made available as soon as possible.
The House will return Wednesday to consider the FY 2017 Legislative Affairs appropriations bill as well as legislation to bailout Puerto Rico from its $70 billion in debt (for an island of under 3.5 million people). The island has defaulted three times, and its next big payout is due July 1. The Puerto Rico “bailout” has been very controversial on the House-side of the Hill. The territory has argued it simply needs leniency to restructure its current debt to reduce or delay payments.
Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.
VP Picks – Now that Trump has locked down the nomination, the latest speculation is who will be named his running mate. Read more at The Hill.
U.S. Capitol – March 28, 2016 (AOC)
Pell – The federal Pell Grant program, a federal financial aid offering earmarked for the neediest college students, is expected to have a $7.8 billion surplus next year. The fight is on to claim that money. Read more at the Wall Street Journal.
Opioids – Prince died of an overdose from opioid painkillers, becoming the latest high-profile victim of America’s opioid epidemic. Read more at Vox.
No Enforcement – Last week, the University of North Carolina system told a federal court that it won’t enforce a law requiring transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates. Read more at the Associated Press.
Tricky, Tricky – The Third Way is out with a new report on the low graduation rate of these students attending private nonprofit colleges. Only 55 percent graduate within six years and of the 1,027 private colleges studied, 761 have graduation rates of less than 67 percent. Read more at The New York Times.
“It’s okay to max out your credit card.” – A spate of stories on Trump University have hit the media this week from, admittedly, disgruntled employees about the for-profit institution being an unscrupulous business that relied on high-pressure sales tactics, employed unqualified instructors, made deceptive claims and exploited vulnerable students willing to pay tens of thousands for Mr. Trump’s insights. Read more at The New York Times. Read more at Vox.
The House and Senate are out this week as they head home to celebrate Memorial Day with a week-long recess. When they return, the Senate will resume consideration on its version of the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act and the House will begin regrouping on how to proceed with appropriations after the meltdown of the FY 2017 E&W bill last week.
