House and Senate Approve Competing Budget Resolutions; Lower Chamber Clears "Doc Fix" Bill with Secure Rural Schools Extension
Both the House and Senate approved this week their respective fiscal year 2016 budget resolutions (H Con Res 27 and S Con Res 11). Although Congress, by law, is statutorily required to pass a final budget blueprint by April 15, that deadline is rarely met. This year will likely be no different, as lawmakers have adjourned for a two-week spring recess and will have little time to negotiate a final deal prior to the mid-April target date.
The budget resolution is a nonbinding document that sets overall tax and spending parameters for the upcoming fiscal year and also provides budget projections for the coming decade. Additionally, the resolution can carry budget reconciliation instructions, which direct certain committees of jurisdiction to find savings in entitlement and mandatory spending programs. It should be noted that if Congress includes such instructions in the final budget resolution, the resulting legislation is insulated from filibuster in the Senate.
Incidentally, both the House and Senate have included reconciliation directives in their versions of the budget resolution. As in previous years, the House budget proposes to convert Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) into state block grants and calls for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Those three proposals combined would save over $3 trillion in the next ten years.
The Senate budget resolution includes a similar proposal to block grant Medicaid, but would protect low-income, elderly individuals and persons with disabilities. The upper chamber's budget also includes reconciliation instructions calling for the repeal of the ACA. If Congress approves subsequent legislation that would dismantle the ACA, President Obama would undoubtedly veto the bill.
On the discretionary spending side, both chambers' fiscal year 2016 budget resolutions propose billions of dollars of savings over the next ten years. The House assumes roughly $460 billion in unspecified cuts, while the Senate measure includes about $620 billion in savings over the ensuing decade. It remains to be seen whether and how those cuts would be achieved.
Looking ahead, both houses will work to craft a concurrent budget resolution in an effort to produce a final spending blueprint for fiscal year 2016.
CSAC Representatives Participate in Carcieri Roundtable on Capitol Hill
On Wednesday, March 25th, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held a roundtable discussion entitled "The Carcieri v. Salazar Supreme Court Decision and Exploring a Way Forward." The intent of the roundtable was to bring key stakeholders together for a conversation regarding the implications of the Carcieri decision, as well as the process used by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to take land into trust.
In Carcieri, the Supreme Court ruled that the secretary of the Interior's trust land acquisition authority is limited to those tribes that were under federal jurisdiction at the time of the passage of the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934. Since the Court's decision in 2009, many Indian tribes have called upon Congress to pass legislation overturning the Court's action. For its part, CSAC has been the lead voice in insisting that any Carcieri "fix" legislation include long-overdue reforms in the BIA's trust acquisition process.
It should be noted that CSAC was one of only four organizations invited to participate in the forum, with Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt and Napa County Supervisor Diane Dillon representing the association. As part of the dialogue, the supervisors provided detail on and examples of the various long-standing deficiencies in the BIA's trust-land process. To remedy the lack of standards in current law, Supervisor Dillon and Rabbitt called upon Congress to approve CSAC's comprehensive fee-to-trust reform proposal.
Among other things, CSAC's proposal would ensure that counties receive timely notice of fee-to-trust applications and have adequate opportunity to provide input and comment on proposed tribal trust acquisitions. Moreover, the association's legislative reform package includes a proposal that would incentivize local mitigation agreements between tribes and counties. Under the reform proposal, a tribe that enters into a local mitigation agreement with the affected county would be able to have land taken into trust under a streamlined process.
In addition to CSAC, the National Association of Counties, the National Congress of American Indians, and the United South and Eastern Tribes participated in the Senate roundtable.
State Criminal Alien Assistance Program
This week, 42 members of Congress, including 25 members of the California congressional delegation, sent a letter to the leaders of the House Appropriations Committee requesting adequate resources for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP). The correspondence was led by Representatives Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Linda Sánchez (D-CA).
Specifically, the letter requests the Appropriations Committee to provide SCAAP resources in fiscal year 2016 at a level appropriate to effectively execute the program’s purpose. SCAAP, which provides partial reimbursement to States and counties for the costs of incarcerating undocumented criminals, is currently funded at $185 million. It should be noted that California's counties, alone, are estimated to spend in excess of $300 million annually to incarcerate undocumented criminals.
CSAC, which remains a leader in pushing for SCAAP funding, worked with Representatives Gosar and Sánchez to secure support for the SCAAP funding letter.
Funding for Local Bridges/MAP-21 Reauthorization
Congressman Jeff Denham (R-CA) is leading an effort in the House aimed at securing additional federal funding for local bridges as part of MAP-21 reauthorization. Specifically, Congressman Denham is requesting members of the California congressional delegation to sign onto a letter urging the leaders of the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee to make funding for crumbling bridges a top priority. Additionally, the correspondence urges Congress to provide a dedicated funding stream for locally owned bridges that are on the Federal-Aid Highway System.
CSAC has joined with Congressman Denham in pushing Congress to provide bridge funding parity under federal law. Pursuant to MAP-21, local bridges that are off of the Federal-Aid System receive a special funding set-aside; on-system bridges, however, do not have a dedicated federal funding source. In light of the fact that over half of locally-owned bridges in California are located on Federal-Aid Highways, CSAC is urging Congress to create a similar funding mechanism for these important components of the state’s transportation network.
Looking ahead, and in the absence of consensus on how to pay for a long-term transportation measure, it is unclear when the House – or the Senate – will take up a MAP-21 renewal bill. With the current extension of MAP-21 slated to expire at the end of May, it appears very likely that Congress will be forced to approve another short-term continuation of current law.
Waters of the United States
On Tuesday, March 17, the House Agriculture Committee’s Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee held a hearing to review the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)/Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps) proposed rule defining “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS). The session featured testimony by several representatives of state and local government, including Clinton County Commissioner (PA) Robert Smeltz, who testified on behalf of the National Association of Counties (NACo). Incidentally, the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee is scheduled to hold a similar hearing in the future.
At the House hearing, Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway (R-TX) and Subcommittee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-PA) urged EPA and the Corps to withdraw the proposed rule and work with state and local stakeholders to develop a new set of recommendations. Chairman Thompson also indicated that the committee may call on EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) Jo-Ellen Darcy, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack to address specific issues and concerns raised in Tuesday’s hearing.
It should also be noted that Conaway and Thompson expressed support for legislation (HR 594) that would prohibit EPA and the Corps from publishing a final rule. It is unclear whether the bill, which is cosponsored by 176 members of Congress, will be considered. In the meantime, congressional Republicans will likely look to the fiscal year 2016 appropriations process as an avenue to block the agencies from advancing the proposal.
Finally, in related developments, EPA Administrator McCarthy told the National Farmers Union that the WOTUS rule will likely be finalized this spring and will soon head to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. Incidentally, the rule has been under OMB analysis since last fall, meaning a somewhat modified version of the proposal will be the subject of any further review. |