THE WEEK AHEAD
The SENATE and HOUSE have begun their Spring Recess and will return on Monday, April 12, 2010.
KEY HEARINGS & MARKUPS
A hearing schedule will be published in our next edition on Monday, April 12, 2010.
HEALTH CARE APPROVED AND EXPECTED TO BE SIGNED INTO LAW TUESDAY
The health care saga finally came to an end last Thursday night, as the House signed off on a package of fixes to the newly minted law that the Senate had approved earlier that same day. The President is expected to sign the bill tomorrow (Tuesday).
With that approval, the year-long legislative battle over remaking the American health care system gave two twin victories to President Barack Obama: the health care overhaul on which he staked his first year of his presidency and a less noticed provision for a major reconfiguring of the student loan industry.
Democrats reveled in their expected win—a victory that just two months ago seemed well out of reach—while Republicans warned that Obama had overreached in his effort to pass the bill, which employed fast-track rules to get around the possibility of a Republican filibuster.
With Vice President Joe Biden presiding over the chamber, the Senate took the first step Thursday, passing the package of fixes, 56-43. The House followed with a vote late in the evening on Thursday.
No Republicans voted for the reconciliation bill in the House or the Senate, just as no Republican voted in December for the underlying health reform law.
While Republicans have vowed to follow the mantra, “Repeal and Replace,” the President has already stated that he welcomes the chance to debate them on the merits of the plan throughout the process.
CONGRESSIONAL FOCUS ON YUCCA; BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION CONVENES
The
Obama Administration's plan to shut down the Yucca
Mountain project this year and start over with a blue-ribbon commission
on nuclear waste was met with serious concern from House appropriators who
questioned whether Department of Energy funds can be spent on the
closure without congressional approval.
Energy
Secretary Steven Chu was questioned by a House subcommittee not only on
the President's decision to close down the unfinished Nevada site, but
also on the Administration's plans to make personnel and funding changes
in the fiscal 2011 budget to carry out the closing of the
Yucca Mountain repository.
Some
appropriators argued that DOE's proposed budget changes regarding
Yucca cannot be implemented without statutory
changes that only Congress can make.
Yucca Supporters Seeks GAO Review
Frelinghuysen has asked the Government Accountability Office for an
analysis of the administration's budget proposals regarding the
Yucca program and whether they conflict with
statutory requirements.
Chu
responded that the DOE general counsel has advised him that the budget
and personnel changes regarding Yucca will be
able to withstand any legal challenges once Congress passes the
appropriations bill funding DOE programs. The new fiscal year begins
Oct. 1.
Several Republicans on the subcommittee questioned whether DOE has the unilateral authority to terminate DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, which oversees the Yucca program. The office termination was included in the president's fiscal 2011 budget request, submitted to Congress in February.
Frelinghuysen said the office and a director are
required by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and the 1993 Defense
Authorization Act.
Appropriators also questioned a DOE budget proposal to shift $115
million in current funds to the Yucca closure
effort, saying that would violate language inserted in every
appropriations bill for decades that blocks the agency from “workforce
restructuring” for any DOE program without congressional approval.
Lawmakers also questioned DOE's authority to send a March 10 letter to about 180 workers in Nevada and at DOE headquarters assigned to the Yucca project, notifying them that their jobs will be eliminated and they can apply for reassignment.
Rep. Marion Berry (D-AR) questioned whether the
government should continue to collect fees on nuclear energy generation
from consumers for the Nuclear Waste Fund when the administration has no
place to put the waste from nuclear power plants.
Rep.
Ed Pastor (D-AZ), subcommittee vice chairman, questioned why the
administration already has taken Yucca “off the
table” as one of the solutions that the new blue-ribbon panel of experts
can consider as a long-range solution to nuclear waste.
Chu
responded that he has informed the panel that the Obama administration
intends to close the Yucca project, and
Yucca is not an option. Pastor said the charter
for creating the commission, which was approved and funded by Congress,
does not exclude Yucca as part of the solution.
Blue Ribbon Commission Convenes
Last week, the first meeting of the Administration's new blue-ribbon convened with many of Capitol Hill's sentiments echoed, including concern that Yucca Mountain change in approach is the result of politics trumping science. The work of the Commission, however, is expected to be focused on alternatives to Yucca Mountain, including reprocessing and other storage solutions.
Sense of the House Resolution Introduced
As a precursor to the Blue Ribbon Commission's meeting, a bipartisan coalition of Members introduced a resolution of disapproval in the House (H.Res.1209) on March 23 that would seek to compel DOE to stop its efforts to withdraw its license application for a nuclear waste repository.
EPA ANNOUNCES NEW STRATEGY ON DRINKING WATER
On March 23rd, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson
announced the Agency is developing a broad new set of strategies to
enhance public health protection from contaminants in drinking water.
EPA is seeking a new approach to expand public health protection for drinking water by going beyond the traditional framework that addresses contaminants one at a time. The Agency is initiating a national conversation to identify better ways to address contaminants in groups, improve drinking water technology, and more effectively address potential risks to give Americans greater confidence in the quality of their drinking water.
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Addressing contaminants as a groups rather than
one at a time so that enhancement of drinking water protection can
be achieved cost-effectively.
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Fostering development of new drinking water technologies to address
health risks posed by a broad array of contaminants.
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Using the authority of multiple statutes to help protect drinking
water.
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Partnering with states to share more complete data from monitoring at
public water systems (PWS).
EPA will engage the public and stakeholders, including utilities, rural communities, and states, in developing the new approach. Over the next few months, the Agency will:
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Hold public meetings, webcasts, and use EPA’s website to seek input.
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Seek advice from the National Drinking Water Advisory Council.
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Consult with the Science Advisory Board’s Drinking Water Committee.
TANF ECF PROVISION ADDED TO SMALL BUSINESS JOBS BILL
A provision extending the TANF Emergency Fund for one year and adding
$2.5 B for 2011 was added to the small business jobs bill (H.R. 4849
– The “Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act of 2010.” ) and
passed by the House last week. It now goes to the Senate which is
not expected to take it up until after the Spring recess.
The Emergency Fund provision in the House bill provides for a full year extension with $2.5 billion dollars, with the maximum amount that a state can receive under the TANF Emergency Fund or the regular Contingency Fund for 2011 capped at 30 percent of the state’s Block Grant amount.
The House provision does not include all of the changes that the President’s budget proposal had included; specifically, it does not raise the subsidized employment reimbursement to 100 percent and it does not add a fourth category of employment services.
The provision also specifies that the subsidized employment category can include a member of a needy family (whether or not receiving TANF cash assistance) or an individual that has exhausted or will soon exhaust all UI benefits and who is needy (regardless of whether the household includes a child). This will allow states to serve childless adults as part of their TANF ECF-funded subsidized employment programs.
The Nevada Weekly is published when Congress is in session.
The next edition of the Nevada Weekly will be published on Monday, April 12, 2010.
The State of Nevada Washington Office
is reachable by phone at (202) 624-5405.
Additional contact information is available on our website.
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