Weekly Legislative Update
 Week of October 3, 2016
  
Congressional Outlook

Week of October 3rd

The House and Senate are in recess for six 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). GOP leaders have expressed support for a piecemeal approach, in which Congress would pass several spending packages - instead of a massive omnibus bill - before government funding expires on Friday, December 9. But that "minibus" method is unlikely to come to fruition, with Democratic leaders already voicing dissent on the prospect. Passing these spending bills could be hindered if Republicans try to tack on what Democrats call "poison pill" policy riders, such as loosening trucking regulations, a provision that some lawmakers unsuccessfully sought to include in the 70-day Continuing Resolution (CR), which was signed into law last week. There may also be a revival of fights over riders to limit admission of Syrian refugees into the U.S., barring some Obama Administration regulatory initiatives, and extending a ban on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from requiring companies to disclose political donations. There's also partisan disagreement over a House Republican plan to circumvent spending caps by tapping $18 billion in contingency war funds to pay for regular defense programs. Democrats want a commensurate increase in spending for other domestic programs, which Republicans oppose.  
 
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.
 
Democratic Vice Presidential nominee, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, and Republican Vice Presidential nominee, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, will debate each other on Tuesday night from 9-10:30pm EST at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. There are 35 days until Election Day. 
Week in Review

President Obama Signs 70-Day Continuing Resolution Into Law, Averting a Government Shutdown
 
On September 29, President Obama signed the $288.3 billion 70-day "Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act" (H.R. 5325) into law, which temporarily extends funding for the federal government from October 1-Friday, December 9, 2016, averting a government shutdown. The House and Senate each passed the Continuing Resolution (CR) on September 28 by votes of 342-85 and 72-26, respectively. In addition to extending government funding at FY 2016 funding levels for 70 days ($204.6 billion of funding), the CR package also contains the following:
  • $82.5 billion for a year-long FY 2017 bill funding the VA and military construction activities of the Pentagon.
  • $1.1 billion to fight the Zika virus.
  • $500 million in emergency flood relief money, offset by $400 million in rescissions.
The addition of emergency funding to the House WRDA bill for the Flint, Michigan water crisis, which the House passed on September 28, cleared the way for the Senate to vote in favor of the CR, which had essentially failed several times over the lack of assured funding for Flint. The day Congress voted to pass the CR, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy indicating its support for passage of the bill, while also stating its disappointment that "the legislation continues a provision that would bar the Securities and Exchange Commission from taking action to increase transparency in public companies' political spending [and] the Congress failed to ensure that the Export-Import Bank is able to fully assist American businesses and workers by restoring a board quorum to the Bank." The White House also stated that "[u]pon its return in November, the Administration urges the Congress to take immediate action to provide funding, whether in an appropriations bill or another vehicle, that supports those who have been most impacted by natural disasters and other catastrophic events." Summaries of each of the provisions of the CR package may be found here. Read more...
House Passes 2016 WRDA
 
On September 28, the House passed, by a vote of 399-25, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016 (H.R. 5303), which authorizes $17.4 billion in water projects to be carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, de-authorizes five existing projects and establishes an expedited process for the de-authorization of other projects. The bill includes a last minute amendment that the House approved by a vote of 284-141-1, which authorizes a future appropriation of $170 million in emergency funding for Flint, Michigan in dealing with their lead-tainted drinking water crisis, and which allowed the CR to move forward. A list of the 39 adopted amendments to the House WRDA bill on September 27 and 28 can be found  here and the text of these amendments can be found here. The next step, to be taken after Congress returns the week of November 14, is for the House and Senate to take the formal steps of appointing negotiators to a bicameral conference committee to reconcile differences between the House bill and the Senate's companion measure (S. 2848), which that chamber passed on September 15 by a vote of 95-3.
 
About half of the $10.6 billion Senate WRDA is dedicated to funding projects for clean drinking water (including $220 million for communities like Flint, MI); sewer issues, such as CSO/SSO; clean water policies, such as integrated planning and affordability; and other areas that fall well beyond Army Corps of Engineers' authorities. The smaller House WRDA contains none of these provisions. Some Members of Congress have voiced concerns about setting a new "precedent" of including non-Corps authorizations on a WRDA, which could slow conference talks to reconcile the two bills. The addition of the Flint amendment to the House WRDA bill will broaden the "scope" of the future House-Senate conference on the legislation and may make it easier for the House to recede to something more resembling the Senate position in the final legislation. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) will have to name conferees from the House Energy and Commerce Committee to help negotiate with the Senate Flint provision and other drinking water provisions that are in the Senate bill but not the House measure. Legislators in both chambers are very hopeful that a final compromise bill can be negotiated and passed during the November-December lame duck session. The White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy for H.R. 5303, stating that it "remains committed to working with the Congress on bipartisan legislation to address the Nation's water resources challenges." Read more...
House Passes Bill Delaying DOL Overtime Rule by Six Months
 
On September 28, the House passed, by a vote of 246-177, the Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools, and Nonprofits Act (H.R. 6094), which would delay the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) new overtime rule from going into effect for six months-from December 1, 2016 to June 1, 2017. The rule, published on May 23, 2016, would update the salary threshold that automatically qualifies workers for overtime pay from $23,660 to $47,476 a year, to be effective on Thursday, December 1, 2016. Additionally, starting January 20, 2020, the rule would require automatic increases in the salary threshold every three years to match the 40th percentile of salaries in the lowest-wage Census region. The Obama Administration estimates that this new rule will immediately raise wages for 4.2 million workers in the short-term, and will increase take-home pay by $1.2 billion a year over the next ten years. The White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy threatening to veto H.R. 6094 because it "would delay implementation of the Department of Labor's overtime rule until the middle of next year, endangering a critical step toward promoting higher pay and undermining efforts to allow workers to better balance their work and family obligations. [...] While this bill seeks to delay implementation, the real goal is clear-delay and then deny overtime pay to workers." Additional bills were introduced in the Senate the week of September 26, including a Senate companion bill to the Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools, and Nonprofits Act (S. 3462), the Small Business Survival from Disaster Act (S. 3429), which would delay the rule's implementation by two years in states where the President has declared a major disaster; and the Overtime Review and Reform Act (S. 3464), which would phase in the new salary threshold over five years and would require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a report during the rule's first year to assess its economic effects. Read more...
Congress Votes to Override Obama Veto of 9/11 Saudi Lawsuit Bill
 
On September 28, the House and Senate successfully voted to override President Obama's September 23 veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (S. 2040), which allow families of 9/11 victims the ability to sue the government of Saudi Arabia in U.S. courts. The House voted  348-77-1 for the veto override, while the Senate voted 97-1 for the override, easily clearing the two-thirds majority needed in each chamber, and marking the first time in the Obama Presidency that a veto override has been successful. A day after lawmakers overwhelmingly backed the override, leading lawmakers expressed concerns about potential unintended consequences of the bill. The Obama Administration blasted the override, with White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest calling it "the single most embarrassing thing the United States Senate has done possibly since 1983." When Congress returns in November for the lame duck, House and Senate leaders may vote on legislation amending S. 2040. Read more...
White House Announces New Efforts to Increase National Preparedness by Building Community Capacity to Recover from Disasters
 
On September 27, the White House announced new actions to help build the capacity of state, local, tribal, territorial, private sector, and nonprofit stakeholders to recover from future disasters. New federal actions announced include:  
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Economic Development Administration:  Economic Recovery Training For Emergency Management and Economic Development Practitioners.
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Small Business Administration:  Leaders in Business Community Resilience.
  • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development:  Support Homeless Persons in Pre-Disaster Planning, Response, and Recovery.
  • National Institute of Standards and Technology with the Community Resilience Panel:  Establish a "Built Environment" Resilience Gateway in the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit;
  • U.S. Department of Energy: Enhance Situational Awareness of Energy System Status.
  • U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Establish a National Network of Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Resources.
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency:  Community Recovery Resource Portal.
  • Heritage Emergency National Task Force and the National Endowment for the Humanities: New Training Opportunities to Aid Cultural Institutions in Disaster Preparedness.    
House Passes Bill Exempting Some from ObamaCare Mandate
 
On September 27, the House passed, by a vote of 258-165, the CO-OP Consumer Protection Act of 2016 (H.R. 954), which would exempt from the individual mandate penalty people whose CO-OP terminated coverage mid-plan year; the bill would be effective as of January 1, 2014. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) established Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans (CO-OPs) to promote local, non-profit coverage options. The White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy threatening to veto H.R. 954 stating that the bill "would be a step in the wrong direction, because it would create a precedent that undermines a key part of the law and would do nothing to help middle-class families obtain affordable health care." Read more...
House Passes Mental Health First Aid Act of 2016
 
On September 26, the House passed, by voice vote, the Mental Health First Aid Act of 2016 ( H.R. 1877 ), which would reauthorize a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grant program to support mental health awareness training for educators and first responders at $15 million per year for FYs 2017-2021. The grant money will go to fund state bureaus of prisons, veterans' advocacy groups, EMT and EMS teams, police officer and firefighters to receive education in spotting signs of mental illness in the people they work and live with so that they can get help to those people. Read more...
House Passes First Responder Access to Innovative Technologies Act
 
On September 26, the House passed, by voice vote, the First Responder Access to Innovative Technologies Act ( H.R. 5460 ), which would require that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) develop a transparent process for reviewing grant applications for purchasing equipment and systems that don't meet or exceed voluntary consensus standards under the State Homeland Security Grant Program and the Urban Area Security Initiative. Under current law, equipment purchased with Urban Area Security Initiative or State Homeland Security Grant Program funding is required to meet or exceed national voluntary consensus standards. Although FEMA does review grantee requests to purchase equipment that does not meet consensus standards, stakeholders have complained that the process lacks uniformity, predictability, and transparency. Moreover, there is no process to review requests to purchase equipment for which no consensus standards exist, and the process for developing voluntary consensus standards for first responder equipment is slow and has not kept pace with the evolution of technology or the demands of first responders.Specifically, H.R. 5460 amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct FEMA to implement a uniform process for reviewing applications that contain explanations to use grants provided under the Urban Area Security Initiative or the State Homeland Security Grant Program to purchase equipment or systems that do not meet or exceed any applicable national voluntary consensus standards.   Read more...
House Passes Cyber Preparedness Act of 2016
 
On September 26, the House passed, by voice vote, the Cyber Preparedness Act of 2016 ( H.R. 5459 ), which would streamline the country's cybersecurity procedures to improve cyber-threat information sharing and coordination between federal, state, and local authorities. In testimony at a May cybersecurity hearing, Lt. Colonel Daniel J. Cooney, Assistant Deputy Superintendent for the New York State Police Office of Counterterrorism, suggested that federal cybersecurity intelligence is not shared with state and urban fusion centers - physical workplaces that bring together federal, state, and local agencies to share counterterrorism intelligence - as quickly as counterterror information is shared. H.R. 5459 addresses this problem by allowing representatives from state and urban fusion centers to operate jointly out of the Department of Homeland Security's National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), enabling improved information sharing. The bill also clarifies that homeland security grants can be used to fund state and local cybersecurity initiatives.   Read more...
Senate Passes Survivor's Bill of Rights, Sending Bill to President Obama for Signature
 
On September 28, the Senate passed, by voice vote, the Survivors' Bill of Rights Act of 2016 (H.R. 5578), which would give sexual assault survivors a federal right to a free forensic examination and the preservation of evidence collection kits as well as the authorization for new Department of  Justice (DOJ) grants to notify survivors of their rights. The House previously passed the bill on September 6 by a vote of 399-0, so the bill will now go to President Obama's desk for his signature. According to the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Mimi Walters (R-CA), the bipartisan legislation will ensure that sexual assault survivors in federal criminal cases have a right to: a sexual assault evidence collection kit; be notified in writing before the kit is destroyed; request preservation of the kit; and be informed of important results from a forensic examination. It will also require the Attorney General and the United States Department of Health and Human Services to convene a joint working group on best practices regarding the care and treatment of sexual assault survivors and the preservation of forensic evidence."   Read more...
Congressional Schedule

Tuesday, October 4
  • House Natural Resources Committee field hearing in Santa Fe, New Mexico entitled "Tribal Prosperity and Self-Determination through Energy Development."
Wednesday, October 5
  • Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety field hearing in Logan, West Virginia entitled "Examining the Local Impacts of EPA's Climate Regulations."