NATaT Weekly Legislative Update, March 27, 2017

Weekly Legislative Update

Week of March 27, 2017

Congressional Outlook

Week of March 27

The House and Senate are both in session this week. On Monday, the House will consider 3 bills under suspension of the rules, including a bill (H.R. 1117) to require the FEMA Administrator to develop a plan improve its guidance and record keeping for disaster funding and the Disaster Simplified Assistance Value Enhancement (SAVE) Act (H.R. 1214), which would allow more local projects to be eligible for expedited disaster assistance from FEMA by temporarily increasing to $500,000 the FEMA cost threshold used to provide disaster assistance under simplified procedures. For the remainder of the week, the House will vote on a Senate-passed Congressional Review Act (CRA) disapproval resolution (S.J.Res.34) to nullify a December 2016 Obama Administration FCC rule which requires broadband providers to clearly disclose privacy policies and obtain consumers' "opt-in" permission before sharing certain customer information with other companies; and the Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment (HONEST) Act of 2017 (H.R. 1430), which would bar the EPA fromtaking regulatory action unless it publishes online any scientific research associated with the action.

The Senate on Monday will take a cloture vote on the ratification of a treaty to approve Montenegro's bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Senate Committees will also consider some of President Trump's nominations, Alexander Acosta to serve as Secretary of Labor and Jeffrey A. Rosen to be serve as Deputy Secretary of Transportation.

On Monday, President Trump will sign four CRA disapproval resolutions into law to nullify four Obama Administration rules, including a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) "Planning 2.0" rule which would change how the BLM develops resource management plans; a DoD/GSA/NASA rule requiring prospective federal contractors to disclose previous labor law violations when bidding for large federal contracts; and two Education Dept. rules regarding teacher preparation and school accountability standards. On Tuesday, Trump is expected to sign a sweeping Executive Order compelling federal agencies to quickly identify any actions that could burden the production or use of domestic energy resources, toss out two Obama-era directives that gave consideration of climate change a prominent role in federal rule making, lift the Interior Department's moratorium on the sale of new coal leases on federal land and compel the EPA to nullify the Clean Power Plan. President Trump this week will also announce the creation of the White House Office of American Innovation, to be led by his son-in-law Jared Kushner, which will have sweeping authority to overhaul the federal bureaucracy and fulfill key campaign promises-such as reforming care for veterans and fighting opioid addiction-by harvesting ideas from the business world and, potentially, privatizing some government functions.

Week in Review

House Cancels Vote on Health Insurance Overhaul Bill

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) cancelled a planned vote on March 24 on the House GOP's "American Health Care Act of 2017" ( H.R. 1628), dealing a major setback for Republicans looking to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and marking the first legislative failure for President Donald Trump, whose Administration stated its strong support for the bill. The bill would have repealed tax penalties for people without health insurance, rolled back federal insurance standards, reduced subsidies for the purchase of private insurance, set new limits on spending for Medicaid, repealed hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes imposed by the ACA, and would have cut off federal funds to Planned Parenthood for one year. Ryan on Thursday postponed a scheduled vote on the healthcare overhaul in a last-ditch effort to win over party members, however, Republican leaders failed in their attempts to win over both conservatives and moderates within the House GOP conference, and were not able to get the required 216 votes to pass the bill. During a news conference at the Capitol on Friday, Ryan attributed the setback to Republicans' newfound status as a governing party. "We're feeling those growing pains today. We came up short. We're going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future." With ACA repeal off the table, Trump wants to move on to tax reform, but some Republicans now say that would be more difficult with the ACA's taxes still on the table. Read more...

Senate Passes Three CRA Disapproval Resolutions

Last week, the Senate passed three Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions to nullify Obama Administration rules finalized from June 2016 to January 2017, two of which will now be sent to President Donald Trump for his signature. These rules include:

An Interior Department rule finalized in August 2016 barring any predator population-control hunting on national wildlife refuges in Alaska unless it's in response to a conservation concern-passed by a vote of 52-47; the House passed the resolution on Feb. 16 by a vote of 225-193;
A Labor Department rule finalized in December 2016 which would have standardized the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) record keeping of work-related injuries and illnesses for five years, in order to clarify existing practices and to ensure that employees were being protected, while giving OSHA tools to enforce their continuing obligation to record workplace injuries-passed by a vote of 50-48; the House passed the resolution on March 1 by a vote of 231-191; and
A Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule finalized in December 2016 which requires broadband providers to clearly disclose privacy policies and obtain consumers' "opt-in" permission before sharing certain customer information with other companies-passed by a vote of 50-48.

Trump Signs NASA Transition Authorization Act Into Law

On March 21, President Trump signed the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 (S. 442) into law, the first comprehensive NASA authorization passed by Congress in more than six years. The bill authorizes the development and execution of a long-range plan for deep space human exploration; invests in robust science, technology and aeronautics portfolios; and endorses the Agency's successful efforts to nurture a new commercial market that will boost our economy and create more jobs. Additionally, it guarantees vastly improved health care for the heroes who risk their lives in the exploration of space. Read more...

Trump Announces Approval of Keystone XL Pipeline

On March 24, President Trump announced that the U.S. State Department granted the pipeline giant TransCanada a permit to construct the Keystone XL pipeline, a reversal of Obama Administration policy. Originally planned to open in 2012, the Keystone XL would transport up to 830,000 barrels a day of Canadian and North Dakota crude to Steele City, Nebraska where it would connect with existing pipelines to deliver the oil to refineries in Texas and Louisiana for processing. Most of the refined product would probably be exported, or it might enable domestic producers to export more oil produced in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Read more...

Senate Confirms U.S. Sentencing Commissioners and U.S. Ambassador to Israel

On March 21, the Senate voted 98-0 to confirm Charles Breyer and Danny Reeves to be members of the United States Sentencing Commission, an independent federal agency responsible for articulating the sentencing guidelines for U.S. federal courts. On March 23, the Senate voted 52-46 to confirm David Friedman to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Read more...

House Passes Pesticide Registration Enhancement Act

On March 20, the House passed, by voice vote, the Pesticide Registration Enhancement Act of 2017 (H.R. 1029), which would extend the EPA's pesticide registration programs and related fees through FY 2023. The current Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2003 (PRIA) expires on September 30, 2017 and H.R. 1029 extends the Act with minor improvements. Specific improvements include:

Reauthorizes existing provisions for seven years, as opposed to the five-year extensions in previous iterations of PRIA;
Provides two increases of 5 percent each on registration fees over the seven years;
Provides a $500,000 set aside, from fees paid-for by the industry, for EPA to meet deadlines for efficacy guidelines for pesticides to combat bed bugs, and crawling and flying insects, which will inform industry what efficacy tests are required; and
Increases maintenance fees to $31 million annually from FYs 2017-2023 and provides increased funding for grant programs, promoting Good Laboratory Practices, and farm worker protection education.