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Weekly Legislative Update
Week of May 30, 2017
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Week of May 30
The House and Senate are both in recess this week, returning June 5. When the House returns next week, it will consider the Financial CHOICE (Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers and Entrepreneurs) Act of 2017 (H.R. 10), a far-reaching bill that would overhaul the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act enacted in the wake of the 2007-08 financial crisis.
When the Senate returns, it will vote on a resolution (S.Res.176) commemorating the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, the nomination of Courtney Elwood to be General Counsel for the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 (S. 1094),
bipartisan legislation that would reform the VA by allowing the Secretary to dismiss bad employees, and ensure appropriate due process protections for whistleblowers. Another bill that could be in line for Senate floor action, the Countering Iran's Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017 (S. 722), would let the Trump Administration impose more economic sanctions against Iran, as well as companies and individuals that assist Tehran in ballistic missile tests or fomenting terrorism in the region. Senate leadership staff this week will also be huddling with their colleagues on the Senate Budget, Finance, and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committees to begin drafting the chamber's legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Bipartisan discussions will likely soon get underway regarding spending levels for the 2018 fiscal year once Congress returns from their recess. In addition to passing a FY 2018 funding bill by September 30, other key cutoffs facing the House and Senate within the next four months include raising the debt limit, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization, Coast Guard reauthorization, National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) reauthorization, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) user fees, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) reauthorization, and expiring Medicare provisions. In June, both chambers will also likely consider advancing the FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
President Trump this week may announce whether the United States will remain in the Paris Agreement on climate change, signed by former Secretary of State John Kerry and 173 other nations on April 22, 2016. According to news reports, President Trump has told multiple people, including EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, that he plans to leave the Paris Agreement.
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NATaT Hosts Another Successful Fly-In
Town and township leaders from across the country traveled to Washington for NATaT's annual legislative fly-in. The attendees spent the afternoon of May 24th in a General Session that included speakers from FEMA and from the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. The day concluded with a review of items for discussion and advocacy on Capitol Hill on May 25th.
NATaT members focused on tax and broadband priorities, as well as proposed reorganization of USDA's Rural Development Division. Additionally, members requested NATaT's participation in an advisory committee for a newly-formed House Task Force on Intergovernmental Relations, which is a bipartisan group of lawmakers focused on balancing the interests between federal, state, tribal, and local governments. Our messages were well-received by legislators and staff and NATaT staff will continue our follow up with congressional offices.
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Trump Administration Releases FY 2018 Budget Request
On May 23, the Trump Administration released its FY 2018 budget request to Congress entitled "
A New Foundation for American Greatness." The budget proposes to spend $4.1 trillion in FY 2018, measured as outlays and projects collecting $3.65 trillion in revenue in FY 2018, resulting in a $440 billion deficit in the fiscal year that begins October 1, 2017. The budget proposes a $54 billion increase in base discretionary defense spending in FY 2018, offset by an equal cut in non-defense discretionary spending. Additionally, Trump's FY 2018 budget proposal would completely eliminate
66 federal agencies and programs, for a savings of $26.7 billion. Over the next decade, the budget calls for slashing a total of $3.6 trillion, including more than $800 billion from Medicaid, $192 billion from nutritional assistance, and $272 billion over all from welfare programs. The Administration also released a six-page
fact sheet entitled "2018 Budget: Infrastructure Initiative," which broadly outlines four key principles for the $200 billion in outlays related to the infrastructure initiative in the 2018 budget: Make Targeted Federal Investments; Encourage Self-Help; Align Infrastructure Investment with Entities Best Suited to Provide Sustained and Efficient Investment; and Leverage the Private Sector. President Trump's budget request is certain to face vigorous opposition from lawmakers in both parties who will resist chopping favored programs and ultimately Congress will make a final decision on spending levels through the annual appropriations process.
Read more...
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CBO Releases Budget Score for American Health Care Act of 2017
On May 24, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its
cost estimate of the direct spending and revenue effects of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) of 2017 (
H.R. 1628), which the House passed on May 4 by a vote of
217-213. The CBO estimates that enacting ACHA would reduce the cumulative federal deficit over the 2017-2026 period by $119 billion. Additionally, the CBO estimates that, "in 2018, 14 million more people would be uninsured under H.R. 1628 than under current law. The increase in the number of uninsured people relative to the number projected under current law would reach 19 million in 2020 and 23 million in 2026. In 2026, an estimated 51 million people under age 65 would be uninsured, compared with 28 million who would lack insurance that year under current law. Under the legislation, a few million of those people would use tax credits to purchase policies that would not cover major medical risks." The Senate Republican conference is
currently formulating its own, expectedly different, version of AHCA, and is expected to vote on this legislation prior to the August recess.
Read more...
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Federal Appeals Court Upholds Injunction Against Trump Travel Ban Executive Order
On May 25, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, based out of Richmond, VA,
upheld a nationwide injunction that blocks the travel ban in President Trump's second
Executive Order on the issue, signed on March 6. The court held that although President Trump had broad power to deny entry into the United States, his executive order "stands to cause irreparable harm to individuals across the nation."
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House Passes Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act
On May 24, the House passed, by a vote of
256-165, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2017 (
H.R. 953), with 25 Democrats voting in favor and 1 Republican voting against. The bill would
exempt pesticide spraying near bodies of water from regulation under an existing EPA general Clean Water Act permit.The legislation stems from a 2009 court decision in which the court found that the use of some pesticides is a form of water pollution, requiring a permit from the EPA. EPA responded with a Pesticide General Permit for those wishing to spray pesticides on or near bodies of water. The House also voted to reject two amendments to the bill:
191-229 for an
amendment to
carve out from the bill's Clean Water Act permitting exemption those waters that contain any one of hundreds of listed chemical substances; and 189-230 for an amendment to carve out from the bill's Clean Water Act permitting exemption any water that could contain fish.
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House Passes Series of Bills Regarding Criminal Justice and Victims' Rights
Last week, the House passed several bills related to criminal justice and victims' rights, including:
- the Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2017 (H.R. 1188), passed by voice vote, which reauthorizes, through FY 2022, grants to the states and other jurisdictions to implement sex offender registry requirements;
- the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2017 (H.R. 1809), passed by voice vote, which reauthorizes, though FY 2022, about $1.6 billion for juvenile justice and at-risk youth programs at DOJ and HHS;
- the Put Trafficking Victims First Act of 2017 (H.R. 2473), passed by voice vote, which requires DOJ to provide training and technical assistance to federal, state, local and tribal governments on prosecuting human traffickers and providing support services to trafficking victims;
- the Protecting Against Child Exploitation Act of 2017 (H.R. 1761), passed by a vote of 368-51, which closes a loophole in existing federal criminal law by making the production or transmission of pornographic photos or videos of a child a crime regardless of the perpetrator's intent; an amendment failed by a vote of 180-238 which would have ensured that minors are not punished as sex offenders; and
- the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse Act of 2017 (H.R. 1973), passed by a vote of 415-3, which requires national amateur sports organizations to report suspected cases of child abuse to law enforcement and implement policies to prevent such abuse; two amendments were approved by voice vote.
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Senate Passes Securing our Agriculture and Food Act
On May 24, the Senate passed, by Unanimous Consent, the Securing our Agriculture and Food Act (
H.R. 1238), which would require the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs, to lead the government's efforts to secure the nation's food, agriculture, and veterinary systems against terrorism and high-risk events. The bill also authorizes the DHS Secretary to collaborate with other agencies to ensure food, agriculture, and animal and human health sectors receive attention and are integrated into the DHS's domestic preparedness policy initiatives.
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Senate Passes Digital Coast Act
On May 25, the Senate passed, by Unanimous Consent, the Digital Coast Act (
S. 110), which would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a constituent-driven Digital Coast program which must: (1) provide an online resource that integrates geospatial data, decision-support tools, training, and best practices to address coastal management issues and needs, and to enhance resilient communities, ecosystem values, and coastal economic growth and development; and (2) provide for the documentation, dissemination, and archiving of the data. The bill is supported by: American Planning Association, Association of State Floodplain Managers, Coastal States Organization, MAPPS, National Association of Counties, National Estuarine Research Reserve Association, National Society of Professional Surveyors, National States Geographic Information Council, The Nature Conservancy, Ayers Associates, Continental Mapping Consultants, and Quantum Spatial.
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Trump Announces Nominations to Administrative Posts
Last week, the White House announced that the following 13 nominations had been sent to the Senate for consideration:
- Kevin K. McAleenan to be Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security;
- Richard Ashooh to be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce;
- J. Paul Compton, Jr. to be General Counsel of the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
- Brett Giroir to be Medical Director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service and Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services;
- Robert R. Hood to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense;
- David S. Jonas to be General Counsel of the Department of Energy;
- Gilbert B. Kaplan to be Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade;
- Karen Dunn Kelley to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs;
- Heather L. MacDougall to be a Member of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission for a term expiring April 27, 2023;
- Neal J. Rackleff to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
- Michael Arthur Raynor to be U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia;
- Callista L. Gingrich to be U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See; and
- George Nesterczuk to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management for a term of four years.
Trump also announced his intent to nominate the following four individuals to various positions last week:
- Kristine L. Svinicki to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a five-year term expiring June 30, 2022 and to be designated as Chair;
- Annie Caputo to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the remainder of a five-year term expiring June 30, 2021;
- David Wright to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the remainder of a five-year term expiring June 30, 2020; and
- Henry Kerner to be Special Counsel, Office of Special Counsel.
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