President Bush released his FY 2006 budget this morning with numerous congressional hearings already scheduled for the remainder of the week on the proposal. The President's $2.5 trillion FY 2006 budget calls for a nearly 1 percent cut in non-defense discretionary programs. Overall discretionary spending (including homeland security and defense) would grow by 2.1 percent. Specifically, the budget proposes cutting or eliminating around 150 domestic programs, as well as consolidating 15 community and economic development programs (including CDBG) and reducing their funding from $5.6 billion to $3.7 billion. It also calls fro $60 billion in Medicaid proposed spending reductions but would provide close to $16.5 billion in new Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) spending, including money for child health outreach and long-term care initiatives.

House: The House plans to take up one of two bills (either H.R. 418 or H.R. 368) that would tighten requirements fro state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards. H.R. 418 was introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, Jr (R-Wis) and H.R. 368 was introduced by Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va). Both bills would require individuals applying for or renewing driver's licenses and ID cards to prove their lawful presence in the United States among other provisions. In order to expedite Senate consideration, the House leadership plans to attach one of the measurers to the first "must-pass" bill of the session, which is likely to be the supplemental appropriations bill for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Members of the Senate have indicated their preference for a more comprehensive approach to immigration reform. If either of the two bills is attached to a supplemental, the Senate has indicated that it plans to offer other reform amendments relating to immigration, such as a guest worker program.

On Friday, February 4, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill (without amendments), S. 5, that would shift many class action lawsuits from state courts to federal courts. The measure, which would create federal jurisdiction over class action lawsuits when the amount in dispute exceeds $5 million and when the plaintiffs and the defendant live in different states, is similar to a bill that was considered by the committee last year that was never reported. Senator Specter (Chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee) has signaled his support for a proposed floor amendment that would give guidance to federal judges on how to handle mulitstate consumer class actions that address a single type of complaint, but combine claims from different states.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex) outlined a three-tier approach for the House agenda in the 109th Congress. He states that the first tier issues would consist of Social Security and tax reform, followed by priorities that were not completed by the previous Congress, including highways, energy, class action, association health plans, higher education, trade bills, and welfare. The third tier issues would focus on long term social issues. In discussing a tentative timeline, the Majority Leader stated he hopes to move a highway reauthorization bill , the FY 2006 budget resolution, and the war supplemental through the House before Spring recess which begins on March 21.

Republican members of the Senate Appropriations Committee met last week and rejected a proposal by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif) and House GOP leaders to reorganize the subcommittee structure of the committee. Members expressed concern with the proposal to eliminate three existing subcommittees and enhance the responsibilities of the Military Construction Subcommittee, which would be renamed the Military Quality of Life and Veterans Subcommittee. The conflicting views between the House and Senate on the proposal could potentially result in different House/Senate Appropriations subcommittee jurisdictions.

On Monday, January 31, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, announced an additional $100 million in emergency funds will be provided to states, territories and tribes from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The funds will provide states with extra assistance, over and above the $1.6 billion states have received this heating season and $100 million in emergency funds last December, to help low income families pay their heating bills. The $100 million announcement uses contingency funds made available by the FY 2005 omnibus appropriations bill. Nevada will receive $139,335. For more information and to view the press release, please visit: http://www.hhs.gov/news

The Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness at the Department of Defense, David Chu, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on benefits for military personnel and their families. In his testimony, Dr. Chu outlined a proposal that would increase death payments to survivors of soldiers killed in an area designated as a combat zone by the Defense Secretary to $100,000. The proposal will be considered as part of the FY 2006 Defense authorization bill. In addition, Dr. Chu outlined a proposal to increase the amount of coverage military personnel can purchase in subsidized life insurance from $150,000 to $400,000. These proposed benefits would be retroactive to cover any personnel killed in combat zones since the war in Afghanistan began in October 200, and is currently estimated to cost more than $280 million.