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    7.    
LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Meeting Date: 10/01/2015  
Subject:    Federal Issues Update
Submitted For: LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Department: County Administrator  
Referral No.: 2015-07  
Referral Name: Federal Issues Update
Presenter: L. DeLaney Contact: L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097

Information
Referral History:
Contra Costa County's federal lobbyist, Paul Schlesinger of Alcalde & Fay, regularly provides updates on federal issues of interest to the County. These updates are routinely provided to the Legislation Committee for their review and direction to staff, as needed.
Referral Update:
Papal Visit Makes History

It was a historic week in the nation's capital as Pope Francis on September 24 became the first pontiff to address a joint session of Congress. Following the pope's momentous speech - in which he called on lawmakers to tackle such issues as racial equality, climate change, immigration, and the death penalty - House and Senate leaders quickly took steps to avert a potential government shutdown.

In other developments, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) unexpectedly announced on September 25 that he will step aside as speaker and resign his House seat at the end of October. The speaker's announcement comes amid a growing conservative rebellion within the House GOP conference, punctuated by threats from some 30 Republicans who signaled their intent to force a no-confidence vote in Boehner's leadership. While it is unclear who will replace Boehner as speaker, it is widely assumed that Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will assume the top leadership position in the House.

Stop Gap Funding Measure Introduced

With the current fiscal year (FY) ending next week on September 30th, the Senate has taken the first steps toward passing a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the federal government beyond the start of FY 2016 on October 1st. On Sept. 22, the Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) unveiled a two-and-a-half month long CR to fund the federal government through December 11, 2015. The CR would continue federal funding for nearly all government programs/agencies at the topline discretionary funding level for FY 2016 as enumerated by the Budget Control Act (BCA). Included below is a brief listing of the bill’s key components, and we have also attached the bill text (Attachment A) and a section-by-section analysis prepared by the Senate Appropriations Committee (Attachment B).

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has scheduled a cloture vote for Thursday, which Senate Democrats are expected to block due to the CR’s inclusion of language that would defund Planned Parenthood. The decision to include the controversial Planned Parenthood language, as well as the move to have the Senate act first on a CR, is reportedly an effort to demonstrate that a CR defunding Planned Parenthood would be unable to pass the Senate. Once this is demonstrated, expectations are that Senator McConnell would then move to advance a “clean” CR free of any controversial riders; however, the timing remains unclear as Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has indicated that he may filibuster a “clean” CR.

If the Senate were the pass a clean CR, it still remains unclear as to whether House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) would have the 218 votes required to pass the bill. Just yesterday, a group of 11 Freshman House Republicans wrote a “Dear Colleague” letter to the GOP conference in which they expressed their support for a short-term CR despite their preference to pass each of the 12 appropriations bills for FY 2016, and they stated their opposition to a government shutdown if no agreement is reached by September 30th.

The exact path forward for the CR remains unclear at this time, and this situation will likely remain fluid leading up to the Senate’s scheduled cloture vote at 2 p.m. Thursday.

We will continue to update you as this process moves forward.

It should be noted that Speaker Boehner's impending resignation will likely quell some of the recent unrest in the conservative wing of the House Republican conference and may serve to lessen the threat of a government shutdown. While conservatives still plan to push for inclusion of the Planned Parenthood language in the House CR, Republican leaders will likely rely on Democratic votes to push a clean stopgap funding bill through the lower chamber.

SCAAP Funding Announced

In other developments, the Bureau of Justice Assistance this week announced fiscal year 2015 SCAAP awards. In total, 50 California counties are set to receive roughly $12.8 million (individual county awards can be viewed here), with the State of California receiving nearly $44.2 million. California's combined total represents roughly 34.5 percent of the more than $165 million that was made available for SCAAP.

All told, Congress appropriated $185 million for SCAAP in fiscal year 2015; however, as it has done in recent years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) exercised its authority to reallocate 10 percent of SCAAP funds to other departmental activities (the maximum amount allowable under the law). Although the reprogramming of SCAAP funds has been criticized by counties and States, DOJ has been authorized by Congress to shift a certain portion of funds from SCAAP and other grant programs to other Agency purposes, including various administrative activities.

With an eye toward fiscal year 2016 spending, CSAC sent a letter this week to members of the California congressional delegation urging them to support additional funding for SCAAP in any potential year-end funding package. Specifically, the correspondence urges the delegation to seek at least $220 million for SCAAP, which represents the level of funding that was included in the House Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) appropriations legislation (HR 2578). In addition, the letter urges members to oppose any effort to expand DOJ's reprogramming authority.


FY 2016 SHORT-TERM CONTINUING RESOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS
  • Keeps the government operating through December 11, 2015.
  • Provides funding at annual rate that conforms to the topline discretionary spending limit established by the Budget Control Act for FY 2016 – $1.017 trillion.
  • Provides Overseas Contingency Operations funding at a rate of $74.758 billion.
  • Includes $700 million in emergency funding for wildland fire suppression.
  • Includes small number of funding anomalies to address unique circumstances that arise during the CR period, such as:
    • Supporting claims processors for veterans’ disability claims at the rate necessary to address backlog;
    • Maintaining launch schedule for the joint polar satellite;
    • Paying ongoing rental assistance contracts in the rural housing program; and
    • Accommodating increased demand for 7(a) small business loans.
  • Includes extensions of certain expiring authorities for the duration of the CR (except as otherwise noted):
  • Internet Tax Freedom Act;
  • E-Verify; and
  • Federal Aviation Administration (6 months).
  • Prohibits for one year any funding for Planned Parenthood or its affiliates unless the clinic certifies it will not perform or fund abortions, and redirects the estimated $235 million in mandatory savings to increase funding for community health centers.
Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):
ACCEPT the report on federal issues and provide direction to staff, as needed.
Attachments
Attachment A
Attachment B

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