This Week on the Hill
The House and Senate are in recess until September 6.
Administration Repurposes $81 Million for Zika Response
Last week the administration announced it would repurpose an additional $81 million in existing dollars to respond to the Zika virus. In a letter to congressional leaders, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the department would transfer $34 million within the National Institutes of Health and provide $47 million to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to continue work on vaccine development. The funds are being repurposed from the Administration for Children and Families, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The $81 million is in addition to the $589 million repurposed in April to fight the Zika virus. Also last week, the department declared a public health emergency in Puerto Rico due to the Zika virus outbreak, relating to pregnant women and children born to pregnant women with Zika.
CBO Releases Updated Deficit Projection
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released an updated projection for the fiscal year 2016 deficit as part of the July monthly budget review, estimating a deficit of $590 billion, an increase of $56 billion from its March estimate. The agency attributes the increase primarily to lower than expected revenue collections; receipts for the first ten months of fiscal year 2016 were up $7 billion, or 0.3 percent, compared to the same point last year. Payroll taxes increased over the prior year, while individual income taxes and corporate income taxes declined. Meanwhile, outlays for the first ten months of this fiscal year were up 2 percent over the same period last year, with increases in Social Security benefits, Medicare, and net interest on the public debt.
Interior Releases Guidance to States on Coal Self-Bonding
On August 9th the Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement issued a policy advisory regarding use of self-bonding for coal mine reclamation. The policy advisory provides suggested guidance to state agencies that regulate surface coal mining on the restricted use of self-bonding and provides recommendations to ensure that coal companies have adequate resources to properly restore lands at the conclusion of surface mining activity. Currently, 24 states have primary authority for regulating surface coal mining and reclamation, and nineteen of these primacy states allow self-bonding. The full policy advisory can be found here.
Labor Department Awards Grants to Study Paid Leave Programs
Last week the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau awarded $1.1 million in grants to research and analyze how paid-leave programs can be developed and implemented across the country. Since 2014 the Paid Leave Analysis Grant Program has committed over $3 million to 17 states and municipalities to study paid family and medical-leave programs. According to the release, 12 percent of private-sector workers have access to paid family leave through their employers. The latest awards went to Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Indiana, City of Madison, Wisconsin, City and County of Denver, and Franklin County, Ohio. Additional information on paid leave programs at the Department of Labor can be found here.
Appeals Court Delivers Broadband Ruling in Favor of States
The federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down a 2015 order by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the case of State of Tennessee and State of North Carolina v. Federal Communications Commission. Municipalities in the two states providing broadband service wanted to expand their networks beyond the current territorial boundaries; however, the legislatures of Tennessee and North Carolina passed laws forbidding or placing restrictions on that expansion. The FCC issued an order to preempt these state statutory provisions, citing their authority to remove barriers to broadband service. The court disagreed with the FCC, saying the FCC lacked a clear statement from authorizing federal legislation to preempt the allocation of power between a state and its subdivisions. The full opinion from the court can be found here.
FTA Releases Final Rule on Urban Transit Systems
Last week the Department of Transportation released a final rule guiding the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) oversight of federally funded transit systems, and outlining new powers to write and enforce national safety standards. The rule is part of FTA’s efforts to carry out the Public Transportation Safety Program, first authorized in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), as amended by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. The final rule permits FTA to withhold up to 25 percent of a transit operator’s Urbanized Area Formula funds if there are outstanding safety violations. The rule establishes a national public transportation safety program that would define best practices, minimum performance levels and state of good repair. The rule takes effect on September 12, 2016.
Administration Declines to Reclassify Marijuana as a Controlled Substance
On August 11th the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) at the Department of Justice announced new marijuana-related actions. First, the DEA denied two petitions to reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act, and marijuana remains a schedule I controlled substance. According to the release, the petitions were denied because marijuana “does not meet the criteria for currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, there is a lack of accepted safety for its use under medical supervision, and it has a high potential for abuse.” Currently, 25 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws allowing medical use of marijuana to some degree. Second, the DEA announced a policy change to foster research, by expanding the number of DEA-registered marijuana manufacturers; currently, there is only one authorized entity. Lastly, the agency released a statement of principles related to industrial hemp, to explain how federal law applies to activities associated with industrial hemp that is grown and cultivated in accordance with federal law.
Recently Released Reports
The Future of Medicaid Transformation: A Practical Guide for States, National Governors Association
How Rainy Day Funds Can Support Progressive Budgets to Grow State Economies, Center for American Progress
State-Level Carbon Taxes: Options and Opportunities for Policymakers, Brookings Institution
Data Reflect Changing Nature of Juvenile Facility Populations, Characteristics, and Practices, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Incidence of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome in 28 States, 1999-2013, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Economic News
Job Openings Increase Slightly to 5.6 Million in June
The number of job openings increased to 5.6 million on the last business day of June, according to data recently released by the U.S. Department of Labor (up from 5.5 million in May). Job openings increased in June for durable goods manufacturing (+37,000), wholesale trade (+17,000) and real estate and rental/leasing (+17,000). The number of hires was little changed at 5.1 million in June and the hires rate edged up slightly to 3.6 percent. The number of separations was little changed in June at 4.9 million. The 2.9 million quits reported in June were unchanged from May; many economists closely watch the number of quits as a measure of employee confidence in finding another job. Finally, layoffs and discharges were down slightly at 1.6 million, compared to 1.7 million in May. Over the 12 months ending in June 2016, hires totaled 62.3 million and separations totaled 59.8 million, yielding a net employment gain of 2.5 million.