Category: On the Hill

The congressional agenda this week will sound familiar to those who have been following the action:  Both chambers will focus on appropriations measures as the fiscal year winds down on September 30^th, and Senate and House committees will continue to resolve differences on health care reform proposals.

Appropriations

Congress has until Wednesday night to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government running when FY10 starts on Thursday. The CR being discussed in the Senate would give lawmakers in that chamber 30 days to finish work on the FY10 spending bills.  But the healthcare measure is also expected to come to the floor within a few weeks so many believe an additional extension will likely be needed.

The CR is needed to give lawmakers additional time after the end of the fiscal year Wednesday to complete the 12 annual appropriations bills.  The House has finished work on all 12, while the Senate has completed only five.  It is close to wrapping up work on the FY10 Interior-Environment Appropriations bill.  Under the CR, most government programs will be funded at FY09 levels, with a few exceptions such as veterans’ health care and the Census Bureau.

Meanwhile, the House will take up conference reports on a handful of spending bills this week if House and Senate differences over earmarks can be resolved. The controversy rests with earmarks designated for private, for-profit entities.  In response to complaints that earmarks are a source of corruption, House appropriators added provisions to their appropriations bills requiring that earmarks to for-profit entities undergo a competitive bidding process.   The Senate, however, did not agree with this move.  Late last week, House and Senate leaders reached an agreement:  House earmarks designated for private, for-profit entities will be competitively bid, Senate earmarks will not, and those earmarks that are listed in both bills will not be competitively bid this year but will in future years.  One thing is certain, the earmark process will continue to morph as congress injects more and more transparency into the process.

Overall, Democrats plan to spend $75 billion, or 7 percent, more in fiscal 2010 than they did in fiscal 2009 on the 12 annual spending bills, not including emergency spending.

The Office of Federal Relations continues to monitor the earmarks that we have secured in the House bills.  The next hurdle is to protect those earmarks as they move through the conference negotiations. 

Health Reform

The health care debate will continue to take center stage in both chambers as lawmakers continue to look for a path forward.  Senate leaders continue to say that a health bill could be on the floor by the end of the week.  While that timetable appears unlikely, it is clear Democrats want to move the bill as soon as possible, with one of the unknowns being how long it will take congressional budget office to score a bill once versions crafted by the two committees – Finance and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) – are merged.

The House continues to push toward having a single bill crafted from the work of three committees, which they hope to have finalized by the end of the week and ready for floor action the following week. 

The Office of Federal Relations is working closely with the health sciences schools (medicine, dentistry, nursing, public health, etc.) to protect graduate medical education funding and ensure that programs and grants being proposed through health reform have a positive impact on those entering the health professions.

As always, please let us know if you have questions or would like to discuss how to engage the congressional delegation with your issues and concerns.

Best,

Christy Gullion, Director

This week, lawmakers will attempt to clear the decks of routine legislative business on the floors of each chamber so that they can continue to give their full attention to how to move major aspects of Democrats’ signature priorities: healthcare reform and climate change legislation.

The House will take up a bill to overhaul the federal student loan system, which has become a top priority for President Obama.  The bill would eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan Program and replace it with the Direct Lending Program administered by the US Department of Education.  It is estimated that this bill could save up to $87 billion, with some of those savings being used to increase Pell Grants and reduce the federal deficit. 

The House will also consider legislation that will provide for an Energy Department program for the research, development, demonstration and commercial application of vehicle technologies.

The Senate plans to finish work on the FY10 Transportation-HUD spending bill early this week, with the first votes on amendments to that measure tonight and stretching into Tuesday.  It is clear that they won’t meet the September 30^th deadline so a short-term continuing resolution is all but assured.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to release its long-awaited health care overhaul legislation in advance of a markup. The committee needs to make final decisions on prohibiting federal funds for abortions, changes to the medical malpractice system, and expanding Medicaid.  Democratic leaders have a Tuesday deadline to come up with a bipartisan proposal before Democrats decide to go it alone on a measure, an option that could involve budget reconciliation procedures.

Budget reconciliation is a senate procedure that would allow the majority party to limit debate and approve a measure with only 51 votes as opposed to the usual 60.  Reconciliation, enacted in 1974 to reduce the budget deficit through better legislative discipline, is designed to align, or reconcile, existing spending laws with the annual budget resolution adopted by the House and Senate.  Unlike most other measures, reconciliation bills are immune to a filibuster (which requires 60 votes to overcome). In years past, both parties have used the procedure to advance policy changes that have had little or nothing to do with deficit reduction.

The use of reconciliation does come with some risks to the majority party.  The rule allows any senator to raise a point of order to strike out parts of a reconciliation measure that are found not to be budget issues.  To a large degree, it is the Senate parliamentarian — an appointee of the majority leader — who makes the call on what does and does not qualify for a spot in a reconciliation bill.  In the case of health reform, the Senate Democrats run the risk of having some portions of their health bill removed from consideration.

It will also be a busy work for the Office of Federal Relations.  Several members of the UW community are in DC this week for a variety of national meetings.  President Emmert will attend the Coalition of Universities for Global Health and participate in a panel discussion with his colleagues from other universities.  He will also visit with agency officials and Members of Congress.  Other faculty members will also be on the Hill this week advocating for global health initiatives and geological/seismic policy priorities.  We are also looking forward to seeing other members of the UW community in DC in the next few weeks.

Christy Gullion, Director

Congress returns to work this week after a fractious August recess during which lawmakers were confronted about the public health insurance option and other contentious elements in Democratic health reform bills.  Policy experts already are identifying less controversial proposals that could attract support from moderate Democrats and even some Republicans.

Lawmakers hope to come up with a compromise on health reform by the middle of October.  If no compromise is found, it’s likely they will try to enact a series of smaller health measures. 

President Obama will address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday to discuss health care overhaul legislation. Health care negotiations in both chambers are expected to dominate legislative business for much of the fall. 

Meanwhile, it seems all but certain that Congress will not be able to complete all twelve FY10 appropriations bills before the next fiscal year begins Oct. 1^st.  Lawmakers will likely has to pass a continuing resolution (CR) later this month to fund federal agencies when FY10 begins. 

House and Senate leaders still hope to avoid an omnibus package.  Completing all of the bills individually will depend largely on how quickly the Senate acts on its eight remaining measures. 

The House has passed all twelve of their FY10 bills, but none of the measures has gone to conference or been enacted into law.  Four bills that both chambers have approved – Agriculture, Energy-Water, Homeland Security, and Legislative Branch – will likely be sent to the President for signature before October 1^st. 

The Senate is expected to take up three of their FY10 spending bills this week, including Transportation-HUD, Interior-Environment, and Commerce-Justice-Science. The Defense spending bill will follow late this week or next, after subcommittee markup on Wednesday. 

Even with the busy legislative schedule this fall, we are looking forward to seeing several members of the UW community in DC and on Capitol Hill.  If you are planning on being in DC this fall, please get in touch with our office so that we can coordinate all the visits – and to ensure that you are getting appointments with the folks you need to see.  As always, we are here to help you advocate for your projects and programs! 

Christy Gullion, Director