This
Week on the Hill
Congress will focus
this week on legislation implementing the recommendations of the 9/11
Commission to reform intelligence operations and are
hoping to complete the action before adjourning on Friday,
October 8, or Saturday, October 9. The Senate began floor
consideration last week and is expected to hold a cloture vote to limit
debate on Tuesday morning, October 5. The House completed committee
action on its version of the intelligence reform legislation and will
begin floor debate, has tentatively
scheduled floor debate for
Wednesday, October 6.
Congress also passed
a continuing resolution to fund government spending through November 20
and chambers are expected to consider an emergency supplemental
spending request for hurricane relief efforts. This measure will
likely combine the President's $3.1 billion request that was forwarded to
Congress on September 14 as well as the $7.1 billion request from
September 27. Additional funding totaling as much as $1 billion
could be added to cover emergency road repairs and other costs. It
is unclear whether Congress will add this funding or whether the President
will submit another request. The House may consider the overall hurricane
relief package as stand-alone legislation, but it will likely then be
included in the conference report for the
FY 2005 Homeland Security appropriations bill (HR 4567). This
issue has become intertwined with the funding request for drought
assistance, which was added to the Senate version of the Homeland Security
funding measure and still needs to be resolved in conference.
Negotiators are also
expected to meet today, October 4 and tomorrow, October 5 to mark-up the
conference report on the corporate tax bill (FSC-ETI/HR 4520). A
skeletal discussion draft released last week by Chairman Bill Thomas
(R-Ca) included only a manufacturing provision and identical provision of
the House and Senate versions. More than 300 amendments to the draft
were submitted late last week and are being considered in the development
of the Chairman's mark, which is expected to be released at a markup
today.
Senate
Floor: The
Senate convened
this morning and resumed consideration
of intelligence overhaul legislation. Other potential items on the
agenda could be a consideration of
the emergency supplemental spending request for hurricane relief efforts
and any conference reports that have been readied.
House
Floor: The House convened
this afternoon and will consider 23 bills under suspension as well as a
motion to go to conference on the
Homeland Security appropriations bill and a motion to instruct conferees.
The House will also take up (tomorrow) 13 more suspensions, including
legislation that would require states to create programs to monitor the
abuse and diversion of prescription drugs
and legislation that would create numerous federal judgeships.
On Wednesday, and for the remainder of the week, the House will consider
an additional 24 bills under suspension including a bill to temporarily
extend the Higher Education Act for one year, a bill to eliminate the
special allowance payments' on certain college loans and a bill to create
mental health courts and to provide grants to enhance services for
juveniles and adults who are mentally disabled. Intelligence
overhaul legislation and potentially the emergency supplemental
spending request for hurricane relief efforts
could be taken up as well. The House could also
address any conference reports that have been readied.
Congress Passes
Continuing Resolution
Last week, Congress passed a
continuing resolution (H.J. Res. 107) to fund government spending
through November 20. Both chambers plan to continue working on
outstanding appropriations bills and conference reports, most likely
Homeland Security, Military Construction, and the District of Columbia
until they recess, predicted for this Friday, October 8. Congress
will return on November 15 for a lame-duck session.
Congress
Passes Eight Month Transportation Extension
On Thursday,
September 30, the House passed the Surface Transportation Extension Act of
2004, Part V (HR 5183) by a vote of 409-8. The Senate passed the
measure under unanimous consent. The latest extension would extend
the availability of all core highway program contract authority provided
by previous extensions through the end of FY 2004; allows the $1.9 billion
of remaining budget obligation limitation for FY 2004 to be distributed to
states and used in FY 2004 or FY 2005; establishes a new
"supplemental minimum guarantee" program for FY 2004 to bring
all states up to their adjusted percentage shares of the core highway
program based on revised gas tax payment assumptions, and authorizes as
much new contract authority as necessary to carry out the program;
deposits the 2.5 cents per gallon of ethanol tax into the Highway Trust
Fund during FY 2004 only; waives the Byrd Test for FY 2004; and advances
contract authority for Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit
Administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration programs until May 31, 2005, based
on pro-rated funding levels; provides that no more than eight-twelfths of
highway obligation limitations in the FY 2005 transportation
appropriations can be distributed before May 31, 2005; extends budgetary
firewalls under TEA-21 and the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act through FY 2005
at the levels contemplated by the FY 2005 budget resolution conference
report; and includes no projects.
Temporary
AML Extension Included in Continuing Resolution
Included in the
continuing resolution passed last week, is a temporary extension of the
fee-collection authority for the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Program, which
provides funds for states to cleanup old, abandoned
coal mines. Under the CR,
the Office of Surface Mining will maintain the authority to collect fees
from coal companies to pay for the AML Program until November 20.
That authority was set to expire on September 30. The Administration
has offered an emergency rule earlier this month to cover the health
benefits portion (Combined Benefits Fund for retired miners) under the
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, but Congress needs to
reauthorize the authority to collect fees for mine cleanup. The
Senate Appropriations Committee included a nine-month extension of the
fee-collection authority in the Department of Interior FY 2005
appropriations bill. Both the House and Senate have been
negotiations a comprehensive reauthorization of the program, but no bill
has made it out of committee.
HHS
Announces Alternative to SCHIP Redistribution Plan
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced last week,the
Administration's alternative to bipartisan legislation that would
redistribute $1.1 billion in unspent
federal allotments in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
The legislation, S. 2759, sponsored by Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) and
Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), and H.R. 4936, sponsored by Rep.
Joe Barton (R-Tex.) and Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), would preserve $1.1
billion in unspent federal funds from reverting to the federal treasury
and target redistribution to states that needed it the most. The
Administration proposal would instead redistribute $660 million of this
amount, which could be done without legislation. While the HHS action is
intended to help the states that are expected to completely run out of
money in 2005, it would not address state shortfalls expected in 2006 and
2007. In response, HHS has proposed moving up the date for reauthorization
of SCHIP from 2007 to 2005.
House
Subcommittee Approves Public Transit Security Bill
On Thursday, September 30, the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways, Transit, and
Pipelines approved the Public Transportation Terrorism Prevention and
Response Act of 2004 (H.R 5082), which would provide $3.4 billion over the
next three years for public transportation security grants to be
administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation. H.R. 5082 would
require the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to identify and
evaluate transportation assets that need to be protected, and to develop a
plan, budget, and funding to implement this effort. In addition, TSA would
be required to assign roles and missions to relevant federal, state,
regional, local, and private stakeholders. For transit systems' capital
investments, such as system protection, explosive/chemical detection;
surveillance/communications/emergency response equipment, and evacuation
improvements, the bill authorizes $775 million in fiscal year (FY) 2005,
$825 million in FY 2006, and $880 million in FY 2007. For transit system
operations, such as security training, drills, canine patrols, and
overtime reimbursement, the bill authorizes $500 million in FY 2005, $300
million in FY 2006, and $100 million in FY 2007. The measure is expected
to be approved by the full committee later today and floor action could
occur as early as next week.
Congress
Passes TANF Extension
The Senate
last week approved by voice vote a six-month extension to reauthorize the
TANF program through March, after the House passed it by a 416-0 vote
earlier. The authorization for the TANF program originally expired
on September 30, 2002, and has been running under a series of temporary
extensions since that time.