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Weekly Legislative Update
Week of October 24, 2016
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Week of October 24th
The House and Senate are in recess for three more weeks, with the House returning November 14 and the Senate returning November 15. The only must-pass item on the agenda for the remainder of the 114th Congress is wrapping up the 11 remaining appropriations bills to fund federal government agencies and programs for the balance of the 2017 fiscal year (i.e., through Sept. 30, 2017), in order to avert a government shutdown. This will likely be done through an omnibus, but if an agreement can't be reached on a massive spending package, another Continuing Resolution (CR) may be necessary. The dynamics of those negotiations likely rest heavily on the outcome of the November elections. On Nov. 15, the Senate is scheduled to take a vote on the Gold Star Families Voices Act (H.R. 4511), which the House passed by voice vote on September 6, and which would expand the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project (VHP) to include family members of veterans who died as a result of their service or who are missing in action.
There are numerous other issues Congress will consider when it returns for the four-week "lame-duck" session in November and December, including (1) the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016 House-Senate Conference Committee (H.R. 5303/S. 2848); (2) the Energy Policy Modernization Act House-Senate Conference Committee ( S. 2012); (3) the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) House-Senate Conference Committee (H.R. 4909/ S. 2943); (4) the 21st Century Cures Act ( H.R. 6); (5) a tax extenders package for more than 30 tax provisions set to expire on Dec. 31, 2016, including those ranging from renewable energy and energy conservation, to provisions affecting homeowners and their mortgages, rum producers, and owners of race tracks and race horses; (6) additional emergency aid for states negatively impacted by severe flooding in 2016 and funding for opioid addiction prevention; (7) a package of bills to overhaul the criminal justice system; and (8) various foreign policy issues, including extending sanctions authorities on Iran, which expire on Dec. 31, 2016, and amending the newly passed Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which allows the family members of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia in U.S. courts.
There are 14 days until Election Day.
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Obama Administration Delivers Cancer Moonshot Report
On October 17, Vice President Joe Biden delivered the Cancer Moonshot report to President Obama and the American public. The report summarizes the work of the White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force since its creation on January 28, 2016, and lays out Vice President Biden's strategic plan for transforming cancer research and care. The report also includes the Cancer Moonshot Blue Ribbon Panel's identified areas of scientific opportunity. Accompanying these findings and recommendations, the report includes the announcement of new commitments toward the goals of the Cancer Moonshot from both the public and private sectors. These include:
- The National Cancer Institute, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft are announcing a collaboration to build a sustainable model for maintaining cancer genomic data in the cloud. The information stored there will be available to cancer researchers through the NCI's Genomic Data Commons and Cancer Genomics Cloud programs;
- The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is establishing a groundbreaking new study to transform our understanding of the biological basis of cancer. Using the vast amount of data housed within DoD's cancer registry database and biological sample collection, researchers will have at their fingertips potentially 250,000 samples to uncover new connections between the earliest signs of cancer. Findings can then be linked to information housed within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's databases to further accelerate our understanding of the environmental factors contributing to disease progression; and
- Lyft and Uber are expanding their support of affordable, reliable transportation for cancer patients because currently one fourth of patients miss or reschedule their treatments and appointments because of transportation issues. For example, Lyft commits to expand its Boston-based "Treatment Transport" partnership to all 200+ cities Lyft currently serves by 2020, to provide patients, particularly those from low income communities, with credits to receive free transportation to and from treatments. And Uber sets a goal to connect millions of patients with rides annually, in over 500 cities by 2018.
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Obama Administration Announces New Actions to "Spur Competition in the Airline Industry, Give Consumers the Information They Need to Make Informed Choices"
On October 18, the Obama Administration
announced a series of new U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) executive actions to "help consumers know how airlines are performing, make sure consumers don't have to pay for services they don't receive, and help consumers find the best flight options [which] will create a more competitive market, with better outcomes for American consumers." These include:
- Requiring Refunds for Delayed Baggage: Passengers should not be charged for services they do not receive. For example, if passengers are charged a fee by an airline for their checked baggage, they should expect to receive that baggage in a timely manner. The Administration has already taken steps to require airlines to reimburse bag fees when bags are lost; on Oct. 18, DOT issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to require airlines to refund baggage fees when a passenger's luggage is substantially delayed.
- Making the Airline Market Fairer, More Transparent: On Oct. 18, DOT released new final rules that will provide consumers more information and prohibit airlines from cherry-picking data about their performance. The rules will:
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Stop Airlines from Data Cherry-Picking: Require the big U.S. airlines to report performance for any plane that flies under their banner - ensuring that the large carriers have to faithfully report on all domestic flights under their brand, not just the ones they select. To meet this goal, the new rule will require the big airlines to report data for flights of their domestic code-share partners (i.e. flights by generally smaller, regional airlines that are sold under the brand of the larger airline) to make these airline performance reports more complete.
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Prohibit Undisclosed Bias by Airlines and Online Ticket Agents
: Prohibit online ticket agents - the platforms on which many consumers compare and book flights - from undisclosed biasing of flight offerings on behalf of certain airlines to make shopping for air travel more transparent and fair for consumers.
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Protect Travelers With Disabilities
: Require large U.S. airlines to report on how often they mishandle wheelchairs so air travelers with disabilities can easily compare carriers and make informed travel decisions.
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Provide Consumers a Clearer Picture of Baggage Delivery
: Overhaul the methodology large U.S. airlines use to report mishandled baggage, so it better informs passengers of their actual chances of receiving their checked baggage in an acceptable and timely manner. Instead of tallying passenger reports of lost baggage and comparing that to the overall number of travelers, airlines will be required to report the total number of mishandled checked bags and the total number of checked bags.
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Obama Administration Announces $50.5 Million Investment in State Expansion Grants to Expand Apprenticeships Across the Country in a Diverse Array of Industry Sectors
On October 21, the Obama Administration announced the latest step to increase access to apprenticeships - using Fiscal Year 2016 funding for a new $50.5 million investment in State Expansion Grants to expand apprenticeships across the country in a diverse array of industry sectors. This initiative, called ApprenticeshipUSA, is part of the Administration's strategy to grow and diversify apprenticeship. Over the next 18 months, this effort will result in thousands of new apprenticeships in diverse industries, including health care, advanced manufacturing, and information technology, that offer workers not just jobs, but careers. These grants provide funding to 36 States and one territory to undertake new apprenticeship efforts, which will include efforts in both urban and rural communities. Projects will focus on helping a diverse set of workers - including women and minorities who have too often been left out of apprenticeship efforts in the past - enter into these in-demand fields. To learn more about the efforts of all 37 winning ApprenticeshipUSA State Expansion grantees, click here. More information on the Administration's state-by-state investments in training can be found here.
The ApprenticeshipUSA State Expansion Grants will help states integrate apprenticeship into their education and workforce systems; engage industry and other partners at scale to expand apprenticeship to new sectors and new populations; support state capacity to conduct outreach and work with employers to start new programs; provide support to promote greater inclusion and diversity in apprenticeship; and implement state innovations, incentives, and system reforms. By investing in state strategies for growing apprenticeship opportunities, these funds "will help strengthen the foundation for the rapid and sustained expansion of quality apprenticeship nationwide." Read more...
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There are no scheduled hearings this week as the House and Senate are in recess.
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