September 19, 2005

THIS WEEK ON THE HILL

 
Congress will continue to address issues related to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  Both chambers passed Katrina tax relief packages last week that contained some small differences and negotiators continue their efforts to resolve them and take final action sometime this week.  A bipartisan emergency health care package could be considered in the Senate Finance Committee (S. 1716) and a bipartisan education relief proposal (S. 1715) by the Senate HELP committee introduced last week could also be considered.  Details on each of the proposals can be found in the stories below. 
 
Leaders in both chambers could begin discussions about a continuing resolution (CR) since the Senate has not yet completed work on all of its FY 2006 appropriations bills.  The new fiscal year begins on October 1.  Several "mini-buses" which would incorporate more than one spending bill could be developed.
 
SENATE:  The Senate will consider the FY 2006 appropriations bill for the Department of Agriculture, with roll call votes on amendments anticipated beginning tomorrow.    They could also debate Katrina-related amendments during its consideration of the Ag bill.  They will then turn to the FY 2006 Transportation-Treasury-Judiciary-HUD spending bill  The chamber could also address the Senate Finance Committee Katrina Medicaid/TANF relief package and the education relief proposal by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP). 
 
HOUSE:  The House will be considering several disaster relief measures under suspension tomorrow.  Later in the week, debate on the School Readiness Act (H.R. 2123) introduced by Rep. Castle (R-Del), which would reauthorize and revise the Head Start program could be discussed.  The bill would authorize Congress to fund Head Start at $6.9 billion in FY 2006, and such sums as necessary in FY 07-011. 
 
 
SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE INTRODUCES EMERGENCY HEALTH CARE PACKAGE
 
The Senate Finance Committee last week introduced a bipartisan Katrina relief package, which includes a 100 percent federal match for the entire Medicaid and SCHIP program in the three directly impacted states through December 31, 2006.  The bill would also provide eligible hurricane survivors in other states with temporary Medicaid coverage under a new Disaster Relief Medicaid program, which would be available for five months and could be extended for an additional five months the discretion of the HHS Secretary.  All hurricane survivors under the federal poverty level (FPL) would be eligible for the temporary coverage as would all children and and pregnant women under 200% of the FPL.  Funding would also be available to help states afford other options for health coverage for hurricane survivors.  The package would also establish a new Disaster Relief Fund for health care providers.  Moreover, the package allows states access to additional funds under the TANF program. 
 
 
SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR & PENSIONS COMMITTEE (HELP) INTRODUCES EDUCATION PACKAGE
 
The Senate HELP Committee last week introduced a bipartisan package that would provide direct financial relief to local education agencies (LEAs), as well as authorize legislative changes to the Higher Education Act, Head Start, and the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG).  Regarding K-12 reimbursement, the bill (S. 1715) would provide direct reimbursement to LEA's two times per year at 50 percent of the average per pupil expenditure (APPE) for the most recent fiscal year, but not earlier than FY 2003 for displaced general education students; as well as a differentiated rebate for special education at 1.25 x the APPE ($2.5 billion authorization).  It would also deem all affected teachers as highly qualified and authorize broad waiver authority to the U.S. Secretary of Education.  With regard to higher education, the measure would extend deferment and the repayment of outstanding student loans and allow student borrowers to obtain readjusted financial aid packages based on new needs.  Certain requirements of the Child Care and Development Block Grant including income limitations on eligibility and work requirements applicable to eligibility would also be waived.
 

HOUSE AND SENATE PASS KATRINA TAX RELIEF MEASURES  

Last week, both the House and Senate passed their respective tax relief acts, which provide more than $5 billion in targeted tax breaks for hurricane victims. The House version contains numerous tax relief provisions, including: holding families harmless against the loss of tax benefits because of temporary relocations; ensuring families are not taxed on forgiven debt;  providing tax relief for housing assistance to dislocated persons by creating a special tax deduction for individuals who provide rent-free housing to dislocated persons for at least 60 days;  extending the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for two years to employers in the disaster area if they hire individuals who lived in the disaster area prior to the hurricane; and  expanding the availability of below-market mortgages in the disaster area by waiving the first-time homebuyer requirement for individuals to qualify for mortgage revenue bonds.

     

To more closely reflect the House bill, the Senate amended its tax relief package to include the child and earned income tax credit provisions, as well as compromise language on charitable donations.   Additionally, it more closely aligned with a House provision allowing Katrina victims to borrow savings from their retirement accounts tax-free, provided they put the money back in the accounts within three years. However, the Senate version applies its IRA provision more broadly to all individuals living in presidential-declared disaster zones. Both chambers hope to negotiate a final version as early as this week to avoid a conference committee.

 

 

HOUSE FOLLOWS SENATE IN POSTPONING RECONCILIATION DEADLINE
 
Chairman of the House Budget Committee, Jim Nussle followed the Senate's lead last week and formally postponed the reconciliation deadline to report $34.7 billion over five years in mandatory spending to the week of October 24.  In a letter to the chairman of the eight House authorizing committees,  Nussle stated the new date, rather then the original date of September 16, and will allow additional time for the authorizing committees to "make key reforms in entitlement programs, even as Congress continues its work in responding to Katrina."
 
 
HOUSE PASSES CHILDREN'S SAFETY ACT
 
On Wednesday, September 14, by a vote of 371 to 52, the House passed legislation (H.R. 3132) that would mandate sex offender registration and notification, and help prevent violent crimes against children.  The legislation would mandate that states have a uniform, public access sex offender registration website and that they notify each other when a sex offender moves from one state to another.  The act also expands sex offenses covered by registration and notification requirements to include military, tribal, and foreign sex crimes (and increases the duration of registration requirements), and expands community notification requirements to include active efforts to inform law enforcement agencies, schools, public housing, social service agencies, and volunteer organizations in areas where a sex offender resides, works, or attends school. 
 
Nevada recently passed legislation that adds safeguards to the state's sex offender registry program and makes improvements to the public information website.  Other reforms in the legislation include having released convicted sex offenders renew their driver's license annually.   Nevada is one of the first states to participate in the National Sex Offender Public Registry (NSOPR) developed by the U.S. Department of Justice to allow for the secure and reliable organization and transmission of public sex offender data from our nation by creating a link to each participating state's public safety web site. 
 
Congressman Gibbons offered an amendment to H.R. 3132 (that passed the House) mirroring Nevada's law that requires sex offenders to be in compliance will all registration requirements before they can be issued a driver's license, and that their license must be renewed annually.   The Gibbons amendment also calls on the GAO to study the feasibility and costs for all states to implement the Nevada driver's license requirements.  This amendment will also require the GAO to study what type of federal grant program may be needed to assist the states with implementing this requirement.  For more information on the amendment visit:  www.house.gov/gibbons
 
Congressman Porter (R-NV) also offered an amendment to H.R. 3132, aimed at improving school safety.  The amendment would allow state and local education agencies to immediate access to national criminal information and databases in order to review the background of individuals seeking employment in a position working with or around children.  For more information on the amendment, visit: www.house.gov/porter/
 
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to consider a similar bill soon (S. 1086).

 

SENATE PASSES COMMERCE-JUSTICE-SCIENCE FY 2006 APPROPRIATIONS BILL

Last week, the Senate passed the FY 2006 spending bill for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, as well as for science programs. H.R. 2862 provides $48.6 billion in discretionary spending, reflecting $884 million more than last year and $1.7 billion more than the President's request. The measure includes $4.3 billion that was designated "emergency spending" related to Hurricane Katrina but this amount does not count against the assigned spending caps.

A total of $21.2 billion was allocated for the U.S. Department of Justice, including $900 million for Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) ($85 million for Boys and Girls Clubs and $10 million for the National Institute of Justice). The JAG program provides 60 percent of the funds for the state formula block grant and 40 percent for the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program. Also included is $177 million for Byrne Discretionary; $200 million for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (of which $30 million is for the Southwest Border Prosecutors Initiative); and $15 million for state prison drug treatment.

The bill now moves to conference to resolve differences with the House-passed version.

 

 

SENATE PASSES TANF EMERGENCY ACT

Last week, the Senate cleared for the President's signature the TANF Emergency  Response and Recovery Act (H.R. 3672). The bill has several key provisions that change current law to facilitate a state's ability to assist families affected by Hurricane Katrina. These legislative changes include extending the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program through December 31, 2005; providing for the immediate payment to states of their TANF funds for October, November, and December of 2005; making available up to $2 billion for states to reimburse themselves for actual costs of providing emergency cash assistance to evacuees; providing all states with flexibility in spending unused TANF funds for families impacted by the hurricane; and waiving program rules for hurricane victims receiving short-term, non-recurring TANF assistance.

 It is anticipated that the Senate will still pursue changes included in the Finance Committee Katrina relief package due to TANF.   The Senate package includes but is not limited to the use of the contingency fund retroactively and a mechanism to increase the amount available in the contingency fund, currently at $2 billion, during the disaster period.

 

DANDINI RESEARCH PARK BILL PASSES
 
Last Tuesday, the House passed S. 252, the Dandini Research Park Conveyance Act, introduced by Senator Reid and co-sponsored by Senator Ensign.  Companion legislation was introduced in the House by Rep. Gibbons and co-sponsored by Reps. Berkley and Porter.
 
The legislation, if signed by the President, would direct convey land in Washoe County, Nevada to the University and Community College System of Nevada for purposes of developing the Dandini Research Park.  The park, operated by the Desert Research Institute, provides a unique opportunity for high technology business development in northern Nevada through partnerships with academic researchers in the development and commercialization of advanced environmental technology.

 

 
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
 
The House Resources Committee today introduced H.R. 3824, the Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2005.  The bill updates and improves the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by providing for the use of the best available scientific data in all decisions, replacing the critical habitat program with a more integrated recovery planning process, and providing for active implementation of recovery plans through implementation agreements. 
 
Of particular note to Nevada is the bill's focus on increasing the state's role in the recovery process.  The bill would ensure that a Governor and responsible state agencies are provided full notice and opportunity to comment on ESA decisions affecting their State and allow for the development of recovery plans on a state-by-state basis, among other provisions.
 
While the House bill is not yet scheduled for a hearing, the Fisheries, Wildlife and Water Subcommittee of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on the broader topic of the role of states, Tribes and local governments in the ESA on Wednesday, Sept. 21.
 

 

For a list of this week's federal grants, please visit our website at www.nevadadc.org