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LEGISLATION COMMITTEE

Meeting Date:	03/14/2022
Subject: Federal Legislation of Interest
Submitted For:	LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Department:	County Administrator
Referral No.:	2022-09
Referral Name:	2022 Federal Legislative Program
Presenter:	Paul Schlesinger, Thorn Run Partners	Contact:	L. DeLaney, 925-655-2057

Information

Referral History:

The Legislation Committee regularly receives reoprts on federal legislation and provides direction to staff and the County's federal advocates.

Referral Update:

The County's federal advocates at Thorn Run Partners provide the following update:

HOUSE PASSES OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL SANS COVID RELIEF. House lawmakers passed the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package (text; summary) late yesterday after leadership worked through last-minute changes to the supplemental appropriations title. Specifically, Democratic leadership was forced to remove the $15.6 billion allotment for COVID-19 response efforts due to concerns from Democrats about the impact of the funding offsets within the bill — some of which could have impacted unspent pandemic relief funds in various lawmakers' districts. Instead of hitching a ride on the 12-bill spending package, congressional Democrats will now try to move a separate standalone measure that would provide close to $10 billion for various pandemic-related areas of need. However, the path forward in the 50-50 Senate is unclear due to GOP opposition to additional COVID-19 spending that is not paid for.

What's next? Senators will now begin consideration of the omnibus spending package, with hopes of clearing the measure ahead of tomorrow's deadline. Despite indications of bipartisan support for the omnibus, it is unclear whether there is unanimous consent support from Republicans and Democrats to reach a time agreement on votes prior to the midnight deadline. As such, it is likely that the Senate will take up the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) that would keep the government funded for an extra four days.

EPA RELEASES MEMO OUTLINING BIL WATER INFRASTRUCTURE IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a memorandum (fact sheet) to guide implementation with state, local, and Tribal partners of $43 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding through the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (DWSRF).

This implementation plan aims to support disadvantaged communities that experience, or are at risk of experiencing, disproportionately high exposure to pollution.
Key buckets of funding include $15 billion dedicated to the DWSRF for lead service line (LSL) identification and replacement, and $5 billion dedicated to reducing polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other emerging contaminants in drinking water.

— TRP SPECIAL REPORT: CMS RELEASES UPDATED GUIDANCE ON UNWINDING MEDICAID CONTINUOUS COVERAGE REQUIREMENT. TRP's newest special report outlines the new strategies and tools that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released to assist states in planning efforts to resume Medicaid and CHIP eligibility determinations and renewals after the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) comes to an end.

— THE LATEST ON RUSSIAN SANCTIONS. In recent days, the U.S. has imposed severe sanctions on Russia’s financial assets and activities as a response to the country's invasion of Ukraine. Click to view TRP's summary of these sanctions, as well as the full list of activities to date.

Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):

ACCEPT the report and provide direction and/or input, as needed.

Attachments
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