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Weekly Legislative Update
Week of October 30, 2017
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The House and Senate are in session this week. The House will vote on
12 bills under suspension of the rules, including the National Forest System Vegetation Management Pilot Program Act of 2017 (H.R. 2921), which would establish a
10-year pilot program for vegetation management to protect electricity transmission infrastructure from wildfires on U.S. Forest Service land. For the remainder of the week, the House will vote on the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017 (H.R. 2936), which would ease environmental reviews to expedite forest management activities conducted by federal agencies, limit the scope of environmental analyses and provide NEPA "categorical exclusions," allow wildfires to be designated as major disasters, and provide agencies with additional funding as needed; the Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2017 (H.R. 849), which would eliminate the Independent Payment Advisory Board established under the Affordable Care Act, which was designed to limit the growth of health-related spending within Medicare; the Community Health And Medical Professionals Improve Our Nation (CHAMPION) Act of 2017 (H.R. 3922), which extends federal funding for important public health priorities, including Community Health Centers, the Special Diabetes Programs, the National Health Service Corps, Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education, Family-to-Family Health Information Centers, the Youth Empowerment Program, and the Personal Responsibility Education Program; and
legislation related to reauthorizing the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which expired on Sept. 30.
The Senate will vote on the nominations of Trevor N. McFadden to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia; Amy Barrett to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit (Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin); Joan Larsen to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit (Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee); Allison Eid to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit (Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming); and Stephanos Bibas to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit (Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania).
On Wednesday, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) is scheduled to publicly release the text of the House GOP's long-awaited tax overhaul bill and, beginning on Monday, Nov. 6, the House Ways and Means Committee will markup the legislation over the course of several days. The White House has stated that the full House is likely to begin considering the tax legislation the week of November 13, with final passage by the House by Thanksgiving (Nov. 23).
On Thursday, President Trump is expected to announce his intent to nominate Jerome 'Jay' Powell as the 16th Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, to succeed current Chair Janet Yellen, whose term expires on February 3, 2018. On Friday, Trump departs for a 10-day trip to Asia "to
participate in a series of bilateral, multilateral, and cultural engagements demonstrating his continued commitment to the alliances and partnerships of the United States in the region, and strengthening international commitment to the denuclearization of North Korea." He will travel to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Hawaii, and will return to Washington, DC on Nov. 14.
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Congress Passes FY 2018 Budget Resolution, Setting Up Tax Reform Legislation
On October 26, the House passed, by a vote of
216-212, the FY 2018 Budget Resolution (
H.Con.Res.71), which the Senate previously passed on Oct. 19 by a vote of
51-49. As a concurrent resolution, H.Con.Res.71 is not presented to President Trump for his signature and thus does not become law. Instead, once adopted by Congress, the budget resolution serves as a formal agreement between the House and Senate on a congressional budget plan and, as such, provides the framework for subsequent legislative action on budget matters during the current congressional session. The spending blueprint is key to Republicans' efforts to pass tax reform because it includes reconciliation instructions that will allow the plan to avoid a Democratic filibuster in the Senate and be passed with only 51 votes. The budget will allow the tax reform legislation to add up to $1.5 trillion to the deficit over a decade. Its instructions call for the House Ways and Means, House Natural Resources, Senate Finance, and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committees to report a tax bill by Nov. 13, although this deadline is non-binding.
The budget also outlines the House and Senate GOP's political vision. It maintains spending at FY 2017 levels for the year, but would then cut non-defense spending in subsequent years, leading to a $106 billion cut in 2027. It would also allow defense levels to continue rising at their current rates, reaching $684 billion at the end of a decade. The budget also proposes $473 billion in cuts to Medicare's baseline spending over a decade and about $1 trillion from Medicaid, though those provisions are not enforceable without additional legislation. The final discretionary spending levels that will fund the government in FY 2018 will still have to be negotiated between Congressional Republicans, Democrats and the White House ahead of a Dec. 8 deadline. Failure to reach an agreement or pass a stopgap measure by then would lead to a federal government shutdown. The tax reform legislation will be publicly released on Nov. 1, with several days of markups beginning Nov. 6. House GOP leaders have laid out an ambitious goal of passing the tax code overhaul by Thanksgiving so that it can be enacted into law by year's end, however, many Republicans acknowledge that the process to enact tax reform legislation will likely take several months through early 2018. Several things that could derail the GOP's tax plans, according to Politico, include: 401(k) changes, the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction; and a very narrow Senate GOP majority. Read more...
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Trump Signs Emergency Disaster Aid Bill Into Law
On October 26, President Trump signed the "Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017" (
Public Law 115-72) into law. The House passed the bill on Oct. 12 by a vote of
353-69 and the Senate passed it on Oct. 24 by a vote of
82-17. The legislation
provides emergency funding for hurricane and wildfire relief and recovery, including $18.7 billion for FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund, $576.5 million for wildfire-fighting efforts, and $16 billion in debt relief for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), in order for the NFIP to continue paying insurance claims to owners of property damaged by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Nate plus other flooding. Read more...
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Trump Declares Opioid Crisis a Public Health Emergency
On October 26, President Trump officially
declared the opioid crisis a Public Health Emergency, stopping short of his promise to declare the epidemic a national emergency. He issued a
90-day declaration that directs federal agencies to better use their money to fight the opioid problem, but without providing any new funding. His executive action
allows for expanded access to telemedicine services, including services involving remote prescribing of medicine commonly used for substance abuse or mental health treatment; allows the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to more quickly make temporary appointments of specialists with the tools and talent needed to respond effectively to the ongoing public health emergency; allows the U.S. Department of Labor to issue dislocated worker grants to help workers who have been displaced from the workforce because of the opioid crisis, subject to available funding; and allows for the shifting of resources within HIV/AIDS programs to help people eligible for those programs receive substance abuse treatment.
Read more...
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Trump Signs Memorandum Creating Drone Integration Pilot Program
On October 25, President Trump signed a
Presidential Memorandum to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao regarding a new "
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Pilot Program." The memo
instructs
Secretary Chao, in consultation with FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, to
establish, within 90 days,
a new drone UAS Integration Pilot Program that will accelerate drone integration into the national airspace system (NAS).
Under this pilot program, the Department of Transportation (DOT) will enter into agreements with State, local, and tribal governments to establish innovation zones for testing complex UAS operations and to attempt different models for integrating drones into local airspace. Using existing federal authorities, the program will accelerate testing of currently restricted UAS operations - such as beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights and flights over people. The pilot program will also allow testing of new UAS traffic management systems and detection and tracking capabilities, increase the number and complexity of UAS operations across the country, and will help in the development of a future national aviation regulatory framework that can fuel American leadership in unmanned aviation.
Within 180 days of the establishment of the program, Secretary Chao shall enter into agreements with State, local, or tribal governments to participate in the program, with the goal of entering into at least 5 such agreements by that time.
Read more...
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Trump Imposes New Restrictions on Refugees
On October 24, President Trump signed
Executive Order (E.O.) 13815 on "
Resuming the United States Refugee Admissions Program with Enhanced Vetting Capabilities." The E.O.
imposes new restrictions on refugees from 11 countries as the Trump Administration lifted its 120-day suspension of refugee admissions.
The E.O. began a 90-day "in-depth threat assessment" of the 11 countries (Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen), a period during which refugees can be admitted on a case-by-case basis if the person's entry is in the national interest and "poses no threat to the security or welfare of the United States." Read more...
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Federal Judge Denies Request to Force Trump Administration to Make CSR Payments
On October 25,
U.S. Northern District of California Judge Vince Chhabria denied an emergency request by 18 states and the District of Columbia for an emergency injunction that would have forced the Trump Administration to continue making Cost-Sharing Reduction (CSR) payments to insurers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) while the lawsuit makes its way through the courts. The case was initially filed after Trump said the payments would be ended on Oct. 12. Judge Chhabria said that he was skeptical that cutting off CSR payments would cause an immediate injury to residents of the state. He noted many states, including California, saw "the writing on the wall" and took actions to mitigate any potential harm if the payments were ended. Read more...
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House Passes Two Regulatory Bills
On October 24, the House passed, by a vote of 238-183, the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2017 (H.R. 732), which would sharply limit the ability of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and other government agencies to address unlawful conduct, provide restitution, or to adequately address illegal conduct by prohibiting settlement agreements involving the U.S. government from requiring that the defendant make payments to an organization or individual not a party to the litigation. On Oct. 25, the House passed, by a vote of 234-187, the Sunshine for Regulations and Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2017 (H.R. 469), which would
modify the process used to develop consent decrees and settlement agreements that require federal agencies to take specified regulatory actions. Read more here and here.
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Senate Passes CRA Disapproval Resolution Nullifying CFPB Arbitration Rule
On October 24, the Senate passed, by a vote of
51-50 (Vice President Mike Pence broke the 50-50 tie), a Congressional Review Act (CRA) disapproval resolution (
H. J. Res. 111) which will nullify a
final arbitration rule, published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on July 19, 2017, designed to make it easier for groups of consumers to sue financial institutions. The rule bans financial institutions from using mandatory arbitration clauses to prevent consumers from utilizing class action lawsuits to address grievances. If H.J. Res. 111 were to be enacted, the CFPB rule would
also not be allowed to be issued in "substantially the same form" in the future unless it is specifically authorized by a subsequent law.
The House previously passed the CRA disapproval resolution on July 25 by a vote of 231-190 and the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy stating that "If
H.J. Res. 111 were presented to the President in its current form, his advisors would recommend that he sign it into law."
Read more...
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Senate Confirms Federal Judge, USDA Under Secretary, and U.S. Ambassador
On October 26, the Senate, by a vote of
79-16, confirmed Scott L. Palk to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma. Palk is the 8th Article III federal judge confirmed by the Senate, as of Oct. 26. The Senate will be confirming five additional federal judges the week of Oct. 30. On Oct. 26, the Senate also confirmed, by voice vote, Gregory Ibach to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs and Daniel J. Kritenbrink to be U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam.
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Trump Signs Whistleblower Protection Bill Into Law
On October 26, President Trump signed the
"Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017" (Public Law 115-73) into law, which
seeks to strengthen protections for lower-level federal whistleblowers.
The House passed the bill on Oct. 12 by a vote of
420-0
and the Senate passed it on May 25 by Unanimous Consent. The bill requires agency heads to propose suspensions of at least three to five days for first offenses and termination for second offenses if an agency head, administrative law judge, Merit Systems Protection Board, a federal judge, or Inspector General finds that supervisors retaliated against whistleblowers. The bill also reduces the length of notice requirement for proposed disciplinary action from thirty to fourteen days, and eliminates the option to hold hearings if supervisors contest a proposed disciplinary action. Read more...
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Senate Passes Four Bills by Unanimous Consent
Last week, the Senate passed the following four bills by Unanimous Consent:
- The Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Reporting (SAFER) Act of 2017 (S. 1766), which would reauthorize, strengthen, and extend the Sexual Assault Forensic Reporting program to help fight the nationwide rape kit backlog. The bill ensures pediatric forensic nurses are eligible for training, which addresses the need for pediatric sexual assault nurse examiners in responding to children suffering from abuse. The bill also helps state and local law enforcement agencies address both the laboratory and storage backlogs by providing funding to conduct one-year audits of untested sexual assault evidence, which has uncovered tens of thousands of untested rape kits on shelves and in labs across the nation. The bill now awaits a vote in the House before being sent to President Trump for his signature. Read more...
- The Protecting Patients Access to Emergency Medications Act of 2017 (H.R. 304), which would ensure emergency medical service (EMS) professionals have the ability to provide life-saving drugs in the event of a medical emergency. The bill would update regulations in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), allowing EMS professionals to speedily administer life-saving drugs to patients without direct physician supervision - potentially enabling them to save patients' lives. The bill now awaits a vote in the House before being sent to President Trump for his signature. Read more...
- The Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2017 (H.R. 1329), which provides a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to veterans. The bill will provide a cost-of-living increase for wartime disability compensation; compensation for dependents; clothing allowance; dependency and indemnity compensation to surviving spouses; and, dependency and indemnity compensation to children paid to our wounded warriors and their families for injuries they suffered while serving our nation in uniform. This increase is set to begin December 1. The House passed the bill on May 23 by voice vote, sending the bill to President Trump to be signed into law. Read more...
- The Providing Resources, Officers, and Technology To Eradicate Cyber Threats to (PROTECT) Our Children Act of 2017 (S. 782), which reauthorizes, for FYs 2018-2022, the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program, a national network of 61 coordinated task forces representing 3,500 federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies that combat online child exploitation across the country. The House passed the bill on Oct. 3 by a vote of 417-3, so the bill will now be sent to President Trump to be signed into law. Read more...
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Trump Announces Nominees to Key Administration Positions
Last week, President Trump formally sent six nominations to the Senate for consideration, including:
- Tara Sweeney to be an Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs;
- Robert Weaver to be Director of the Indian Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services; and
- Leonard Wolfson to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Trump also announced his intent to nominate 15 key positions in his Administration, including:
- William Beach to be Commissioner of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor, for a term of 4 years;
- Irving Dennis to be Chief Financial Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development;
- Steven Gardner to be Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement;
- Kenneth Marcus to be the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Department of Education;
- John Zangardi to be Chief Information Officer, Department of Homeland Security;
- David Kautter to be the Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue;
- Michael Griffin to be Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics;
- Scott Mugno to be an Assistant Secretary of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health;
- Randall Schriver to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense, Asian and Pacific Affairs; and
- Douglas Webster to be Chief Financial Officer, Department of Education.
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