This Week on the Hill
The House and Senate are adjourned until the week of November 14.
Department of Education Awards $245 Million in Charter School Grants
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced new grants totaling approximately $245 million under its Charter Schools Program (CSP), which funds the creation and expansion of public charter schools. The grants were awarded to state educational agencies and charter management organizations. Since the program’s inception in 1995, the CSP has invested over $3 billion to states and charter school developers. This year’s state grant program awarded approximately $177 million in new grants to eight states (California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas and Washington) while the replication and expansion program awarded approximately $68 million in new grants to 15 non-profit charter management organizations that serve students from low-income families. Additional information on the department’s Charter Schools Program can be found here.
Labor Department Releases Report on Worker Compensation Programs
Last week the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new report on workers’ compensation programs, looking at state programs and the costs of workplace injuries. The report explores policy areas including additional federal oversight of programs, strengthening the linking of workers’ compensation with injury and illness prevention, whether to develop evidence-based programs, and whether to update the coordination of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Medicare benefits with workers’ compensation. In conjunction with DOL, the National Academy of Social Insurance hosted a forum to talk about the DOL report and examine the findings from the academy’s annual data report on benefits, coverage and costs in state workers’ compensation programs.
Justice Releases Grants for Campus Sexual Assault and Sex Offender Programs
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced awards made from the Office on Violence Against Women and Office of Justice Programs. The Office on Violence Against Women announced 61 grants totaling $25 million to help students who are victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. Grantees include 45 institutions of higher education and 16 organizations that will provide legal assistance to victims on campuses. The office also encourages colleges and universities to use data from a campus climate survey to determine their institution’s specific needs and create a customized plan to respond. The Office of Justice Programs awarded almost $18 million to implement and enhance sex offender programming, including registration programs, improved justice agency information sharing, promoting evidence integration, and supporting sexual assault prevention and education on college campuses.
Survey of State Departments of Corrections and Use of Hepatitis C Drugs
The publication Health Affairs published information from a survey of state departments of corrections on the prevalence of inmates with hepatitis C and the use of pharmaceuticals to treat the condition. Based on responses from 41 states surveyed, the authors found that 106,266 inmates, or 10 percent of their prisoners, were known to have hepatitis C on or about January 1, 2015 and of these inmates, 949 (or less than one percent) were being treated. Numerous corrections departments received smaller discounts than other government agencies for these drugs. The authors recommended that state departments of corrections consider collaborating with other government agencies to negotiate discounts with pharmaceutical companies and with qualified health care facilities to provide medications through the federal 340B drug discount program.
USDA Releases Price Support Payments to Farmers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced last week that many of the 1.7 million farms that enrolled in either the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs will receive safety-net payments due to the market downturns during the 2015 crop year. Through the fall, USDA will be making more than $7 billion in payments under the ARC-County and PLC programs to assist participating producers (the remaining $1 billion will be issued later in the fiscal year). The 2014 Farm Bill authorized the ARC-PLC safety net to trigger and provide financial assistance when decreases in revenues or crop prices occur. Additional information on the ARC and PLC program, including payment rates and revenue maps, can be found here.
Recently Released Reports
Pooled Plans: A Promising Approach to Expand Access to Workplace Retirement Savings, Bipartisan Policy Center
National Health Care Expenses Per Person in the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2014, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Will Pensions and OPEBs Break State and Local Budgets?, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
Medicaid Fee-For-Service: State Resources Vary For Helping Beneficiaries Find Providers, U.S. Government Accountability Office
Housing as Health Care: A Road Map for States, National Governors Association
Economic News
Economy Adds 156,000 Jobs in September
New data released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 156,000 in September and the unemployment rate was little changed at 5.0 percent (compared to 4.9 percent the previous month). Over the past three months, job growth has averaged about 192,000 a month. The data also shows that in September there were 7.9 million unemployed persons, up slightly from 7.8 million in August. The number of long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks or more) was unchanged at 2.0 million, accounting for 24.9 percent of the total unemployed. The labor force participation rate was essentially unchanged at 62.9 percent. In September, job gains occurred in food services and drinking places (30,000), health care (33,000), professional and business services (67,000) and retail trade (22,000). Mining jobs were unchanged in September, and employment saw little change for construction, wholesale trade, financial activities, government and manufacturing. The average hourly earnings for all employees increased by 6 cents to $25.79 in September, following an increase of 3 cents in August. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.6 percent.
Growth in Personal Consumption Expenditures by State Decreased in 2015
According to data recently released by the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis, growth in state personal consumption expenditures (PCE) decelerated to 3.6 percent on average in 2015 from 4.4 percent in 2014. Personal consumption expenditures are the measure of goods and services purchased by or on behalf of households. Growth in PCE accelerated in just three states in 2015 and was largely concentrated in the Far West and Rocky Mountain regions. In 2015, the fastest growing categories of expenditures across all states were food services and accommodations, health care, and other nondurable goods. Along with housing and utilities, these categories were also the largest contributors to growth in total PCE by state.