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News and updates

House Passes Repeal of ObamaCare, again

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On Tuesday, the House voted, again, to repeal Obamacare. What makes this attempt notable, however, is that the measure contained instructions to the House Committees with jurisdiction to develop alternative policies and legislation in the absence of the health care law. This is the first time the House has coupled an ObamaCare repeal vote with instructions to write a replacement, but the legislation doesn’t impose any deadlines on committees to finish their work.

In addition, while the vote of 239-186 fell largely around party lines, this vote was the first time any Republicans have voted against repealing ObamaCare.  Every Democrat in the chamber opposed the measure and three Republicans: Reps. Robert Dold (R-IL), John Katko (R-NY) and Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) voted against repeal. The defectors cited a lack of a clear substitute was the cause for their vote against repeal; it was not due to their support of ObamaCare. Of note, these three Members sit in seats held by Democrats in the last Congress and districts which Obama carried in the last presidential election.

Senate Fails to Pass Homeland Security Spending Bill

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The Senate failed to evoke cloture and pass the Department of Homeland Security spending bill for FY15. In an ironic twist, Senate Democrats used procedural maneuvers they so railed against in previous congressed to block the measure from moving forward. The 46 Senate Democrats banded together to block the bill from coming to the Senate floor for consideration. To consider the measure by the Senate 60 votes are needed, and the measure failed by a vote of 51-46.

The House passed the $39.7 billion measure (HR 240) earlier this year to fund the Department of Homeland Security. The House measure also contained several controversial provisions to block the Administration’s new immigration policy announced in November 2014.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is expected to try and bring the bill up again later this week. However, there is no clear path forward to funding the Department of Homeland Security for FY15 and addressing the Executive Order which Republicans see as a gross overstep of Executive Power. Republicans see combing the two as the best path forward, while Senate Democrats are insisting they will only pass a clean appropriations bill.

 

This Week in Congress, February 2-6

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Here are some interesting committee hearings to watch this week.

TUESDAY, February 3

Senate Budget
FISCAL 2016 BUDGET
10 a.m., 608 Dirksen Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing

House Science, Space & Technology
NSF RESEARCH FACILITY OVERSIGHT
Feb. 3, 10 a.m., 2318 Rayburn Bldg.
Subcommittee Joint Hearing

House Ways & Means
FISCAL 2016 BUDGET ISSUES
10 a.m., 1300 Longworth Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing

 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4

Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation
CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVATE SECTOR ISSUES
10 a.m., 253 Russell Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing

Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation
VESSEL DISCHARGE REGULATIONS
2:30 p.m., 253 Russell Bldg.
Subcommittee Hearing

Senate Finance
HHS FISCAL 2016 BUDGET REQUEST
10 a.m., 215 Dirksen Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing

Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs
IMPLICATIONS OF IMMIGRATION ACTION
10 a.m., 342 Dirksen Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing

House Budget
FISCAL 2016 BUDGET ISSUES
10:30 a.m., 210 Cannon Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing

It’s Budget Day!

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President Obama will release his FY2016 budget today and it will push for tens of billions of dollars more in federal spending by arguing the deficit has been cut and the economy is much improved since he first took office six years ago. His fiscal 2016 budget plan will flip that by making the case that the economy has turned around, which should allow for more federal spending to ensure the improving conditions benefit everyone.

Obama will propose a mix of tax increases and changes in spending programs that, besides paying for the repeal of the sequester, would reduce cumulative deficits by $1.8 trillion over 10 years according to an administration fact sheet.

The administration said the increases would be more than offset by other spending cuts and closing of tax breaks. The plan also proposes repealing the post-sequester discretionary caps through their scheduled end in 2021, raising both defense and non-defense spending on a dollar for dollar basis. The increases would total $74 billion in spending above sequester caps — raising defense spending by $38 billion, to $561 billion, and non-defense accounts by $37 billion, to $530 billion. Obama has suggested the non-defense increase will go toward more infrastructure spending, new research into precision medicine, education programs, and foreign aid for Central American nations to combat child migration. To be sure, the White House also views entitlement spending as an investment and is not expected to make any significant calls for scaling back Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.

The budget debate will play out over the next several months as appropriators write the annual spending bills and focus on whether to raise the sequester caps. Congress has found ways around those caps three out of the past four years, but that was when Democrats controlled the Senate. The latest sequester proposal seeks Republican support by calling for equal increases between defense and non-defense spending.

Additional reading:

Obama’s Budget: Five Things to Watch

Obama to unveil $4 trillion budget that busts spending limits

Join Bloomberg Government for a rapid response webinar tomorrow, February 3, as they analyze the numbers behind the FY2016 budget request.

Pell Grant Levels Announced

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The Department of Education announced the maximum Pell grant levels for 2015-2016 today. The agency said the maximum award amount will be $5,775, which is an increase of $45 over the 2014-2015 award maximum.

The amount is affected by the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), which was incorporated as part of Public Law 111-152. SAFRA provides for an automatic annual increase, based on changes in the Consumer Price Index—through award year 2017-2018—to the appropriated Federal Pell Grant maximum award. This change has resulted in a 2015-2016 maximum award of $5,775. The corresponding maximum Pell Grant eligible expected family contribution (EFC) for 2015-2016 will be 5198.

Read the announcement here.