HEA
Approved with MOE
Last night, the House and Senate conference committee approved the Higher
Education Act (HEA) conference report (H.R. 4137/S.1642) by a vote of
40-4. The maintenance-of-effort (MOE) requirement on state funding
was approved unanimously by House conferees and on a party-line vote by Senate
conferees. The full House is expected to vote today on the HEA bill, including
the MOE mandate. The Senate vote is slated for Thursday.
Last evening, the House passed H.R. 6098, the "Personnel Reimbursement for
Intelligence Cooperation and Enhancement of Homeland Security Act." The
measure clarifies that State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP) and Urban
Area Security Initiative (UASI) funds may be used to pay the salaries and
benefits of both new and existing intelligence analysts in state fusion centers
without time limitations. H.R. 6098 likewise clarifies that grant recipients
may use up to 50% of a grant for any fiscal year to pay for personnel and
associated operational costs.
OMB
Releases Mid-Session Review
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released its Mid-Session Review
on Monday, in which it projected a budget deficit of $482 billion in FY 2009.
As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the projected 2009
deficit would be 3.3%. Deficits in the mid-1980s were in the 5% range. More
recently, the FY 2004 deficit was 3.6% of GDP.
The new FY 2009 deficit projection is higher than the $407 billion the
administration included as part of the president's budget proposal in February.
The deficit for the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, is now projected
at $389 billion, or 2.7% of GDP. That is less than the $410 billion
deficit projected initially, but higher than the FY 2007 deficit of $162.8
billion.
Administration officials attribute the higher FY 2009 projection to a slowing
economy, which is depressing tax receipts, and to the economic stimulus package
enacted earlier this year. The Congressional Budget Office projected the
cost of the stimulus at $133.9 billion over five years, with most of the cost
occurring in FY 2008 and FY 2009.
DHS Awards
Homeland Security Preparedness Grants
On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security announced grants to state, local
and tribal governments for FY 2008. The State Homeland Security Grant
Program (SHSGP) will allocate $861.3 million, with 25% of this amount for the
Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program (LETPP). Other funding includes:
· $781.6 million for the Urban Areas Security Initiative,
· $39.8 million for the Metropolitan Medical Response System Program and
· $14.5 million for Citizen Corps
The attached (http://inside.ffis.org//ff/DHSfy2008.pdf)
document provides a summary of the FY 2008 program.
House Passes Bridge Bill
The House passed the National Highway Bridge Reconstruction Act (H.R.
3999), which requires the Secretary of Transportation to develop a system
to inventory and prioritize the replacement or rehabilitation of all
federal-aid bridges that are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.
As a condition of federal assistance, states must develop a five-year plan for
highway bridge inspection, which must be approved by the Secretary of
Transportation. The bill also requires states to inspect all highway bridges
every two years. The bill specifies that states may not transfer bridge funds
to other apportioned programs unless the Secretary of Transportation is
satisfied that the state has no bridges on the National Highway System that are
eligible for replacement. The bill authorizes an additional $1 billion for the
federal bridge program in FYs 2008 and 2009 but does not include a
provision to raise the gas tax to pay for this additional spending.
HHS Withdraws Rule on Designation of MUAs and HPSAs
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) withdrew a proposed rule on
the designation of Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/P) and Health
Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA). The proposed rule, published in the Federal
Register on February 29, sought to create a new method to designate MUA/Ps
and HPSAs, by creating a three-tier system with new criteria for designation.
These designations are used by the federal government to prioritize the distribution
of federal and state funds, including clinical resources to vulnerable and
underserved communities.
House
Passes Housing Bill
Yesterday, the House passed a comprehensive housing package (H.R. 3221) that
includes relief for distressed homeowners through a Federal Housing
Administration (FHA)-insured refinance program, a more powerful regulator for
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, state and local funds for neighborhood
stabilization and FHA reform. The package also includes a provision designed to
strengthen market confidence in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae through additional
federal authority to purchase their stock and expand their borrowing from
Treasury if conditions warrant. Yesterday, the president withdrew his threat to
veto the bill. The Senate could clear the bill as early as tomorrow.
The House passed H.R. 6532, which transfers $8.017 billion from the general
fund to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to cover its impending shortfall. This is
the amount that was transferred out of the HTF and into the general fund in
1998. The president has threatened to veto the bill.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a similar measure as part of its
transportation-HUD appropriations bill (S. 3261), but a proposal to transfer $8
billion to the HTF as part of a short-term extension of aviation programs
failed last month.
House Panel Approves Health IT Bill
The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the "Protecting Records,
Optimizing Treatment, and Easing Communication through Healthcare Technology
Act of 2008," or the PRO(TECH)T Act (H.R. 6357). The
legislation encourages nationwide adoption of a health information technology
(HIT) infrastructure. It establishes incentives for providers, insurers and
government to exchange health information electronically across the country,
including authorization for $115 million in annual grant funding through FY
2013. A summary of the bill is available at:
http://energycommerce.house.gov/HealthIT_2008/index.shtml.
Pandemic Influenza Planning Guidance Released
Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of
Homeland Security released guidance on allocating and targeting pandemic
influenza vaccine. The guidance is available at:
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/vaccine/allocationguidance.pdf.
CMS
Announces $49 million in Grants
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Leavitt announced grant awards
of more than $49 million to 30 states that provide health insurance to
residents who cannot get conventional health coverage because of their health
status. The grants will be used to offset losses they incurred in the operation
of high-risk pools. The 30 states that received grants are:
For further information regarding this announcement, please see the attached (http://inside.ffis.org//ff/CMS%20-7-21-08.pdf)
HHS press release.
Delay in Release of Mid-Session Review
By law, the president transmits his budget for the upcoming federal fiscal year
each February, and updates it by July 15th with a Mid-Session Review. In the
past three years, the review has been transmitted on July 15, July 13 and July
11.
At times in the past, the Mid-Session Review has been delayed as either new
economic assumptions have required a re-statement of projections or a decision
has been made that new budget policy is required. That has happened this
year. While it appeared in June that this year's Mid-Session Review was
on schedule, it has not been published to date. It is expected by the end of
the month, and may include new policy recommendations.
Congress
Overrides President's Veto of Medicare Bill
Yesterday, the House and Senate voted to override the president's veto of a
Medicare bill (H.R. 6331) that replaces a scheduled 10.6% cut to
Medicare's physician pay rates with 18 months of stable payments. It also
reauthorizes the qualifying individuals (QI-1) program through December 2009,
extends authorization for transitional medical assistance and abstinence
education through June 2009, and extends supplemental grants for Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families. The bill's cost would be offset by cutting bonus
payments to Medicare Advantage plans. Those cuts total $12.5 billion over five
years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
House Reauthorizes Funding for ARC
Yesterday, the House passed S. 496, which authorizes $510 million over five
years for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The bill passed the Senate
last year.
President
to Veto Medicare Bill; Override Expected
A senior administration official said yesterday that President Bush will
veto the recently cleared Medicare bill today.
The House passed the bill, 355-59, on June 24. The Senate passed it by voice
vote July 9 after voting 69-30 to overcome a procedural hurdle. Both chambers
have more than enough votes to override the president, assuming no members
change their votes.
The measure would replace a scheduled 10.6% cut to Medicare's physician pay
rates with 18 months of stable payments. It also reauthorizes the qualifying
individuals (QI-1) program through December 2009, extends authorization for
transitional medical assistance and abstinence education through June 2009, and
extends supplemental grants for Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families. The bill's cost would be offset by cutting bonus payments to
Medicare Advantage plans. Those cuts total $12.5 billion over five years,
according to the Congressional Budget Office.
A House vote on overriding the president's veto could occur as early as this
afternoon, with the Senate acting soon thereafter.
FY 2009
Appropriations Update
Majority Leader Reid said the Senate will likely consider no more than two
FY 2009 appropriations bills before passing a continuing resolution
(CR) in September that will keep the government funded at current levels
into early 2009. The Senate may consider the FY 2009 Defense and Military
Construction-Veteran's Affairs spending bills in September. With the
appropriations process stalled in the House, those two measures may have to be
included in a CR as well. Neither the Senate nor House is inclined
to return to work after the November elections for a lame-duck session.
With the appropriations process in flux, lawmakers are looking at a second
supplemental spending or stimulus bill as a vehicle for immediate needs. Senate
Appropriations Chairman Byrd is expected to announce that his panel
will mark up a second supplemental spending bill on July 22. House leaders also
are interested in moving a second economic stimulus bill soon, possibly later
this month. Reid has said that any such bill would not come to the Senate floor
before September.
Senate appropriators still hope to have all 12 spending bills approved at the
committee level by the end of July. The House committee has stopped considering
bills as Democrats and Republicans spar over whether they should be used as a
vehicle for amendments concerning energy policy at a time of rising gasoline
prices.
Senate
Passes Medicare Bill
Yesterday, the Senate voted to invoke cloture on Medicare legislation (H.R.
6331) that would prevent a 10.6% cut in physician reimbursement rates and
increase rates by 1.1%in 2009. Following the procedural vote on cloture, the
bill was passed by unanimous consent. The measure also reauthorizes the
qualifying individuals (QI-1) program through December 2009, extends
authorization for transitional medical assistance and abstinence education
through June 2009, and extends supplemental grants for Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families.
The House passed H.R. 6331 by a veto-proof margin on June 24. The bill now goes
to the president, who has threatened to veto it because it
reduces payments to certain Medicare Advantage plans and expends the
Medicare low-income subsidy program.
Senate Subcommittee Passes FY 2009 Transportation-HUD Appropriation
Yesterday, the Senate Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban
Development approved its FY 2009 appropriations bill. The measure includes
an $8 billion transfer from the general fund into the Highway Trust Fund (HTF)
to address the HTF's impending shortfall. The House version, awaiting full
committee markup, does not include the HTF provision.
New School
Lunch Reimbursement Rate Announced
On Monday, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a 4.3% increase
in the federal reimbursement for school nutrition programs for the 2008-2009
school year. The reimbursement rate is reset every July and is indexed to the
Consumer Price Index's "food away from home" category. The new rate
increases the amount paid to schools for free lunches by 10 cents to $2.57. The
USDA also increased the reimbursement rate for each half-pint of milk by 7.42%,
to 18.25 cents.
Additional
LIHEAP Funds Allocated
Attached (http://inside.ffis.org//ff/2008LIHEAPSetAside.pdf)
is the distribution of $26.7 million in additional FY 2008 Low-Income Home
Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds. These funds were set aside for
the LIHEAP leveraging and REACH programs; however, Congress did not provide
appropriations for the two programs. (Specifically, the Appropriations Act
does not appear to encompass appropriations for sections 2607A or 2607B of the
LIHEAP Act, (or for section 2602(d)). Since the $26.7 million set aside
for leveraging and REACH will not be awarded under these programs in FY 2008,
the funds are returned to the FY 2008 LIHEAP block grant and allocated to
all grantees under the statutory formula for distributing regular block
grant funds. The Tier II formula kicks in for FY 2008 as a
result of the $26.7 million being added back to the block grant, as gross
allocations to states now exceed $1.975 billion.
President Signs Supplemental
Yesterday, the president signed H.R. 2642, which combines a supplemental war
appropriations bill with a domestic package. The law delays
implementation of six Medicaid regulations until April 1, 2009. It also
includes $8.2 billion to extend unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by 13
weeks beyond the regular 26-week benefit period. It provides $110 million
to states for the administrative cost of processing the UI claims for the remainder
of FY 2008. The extended benefits program expires March 31, 2009. Also included
in the package are $62.8 billion (over 10 years) for veterans' education
benefits, $5.8 billion to strengthen levees in
CMS Takes Steps to Delay Medicare Reimbursement Reduction
On June 27, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it
would take steps to delay implementation of the 10.6% Medicare physician
reimbursement reduction that is scheduled to take effect today. To do so, CMS
will not process Medicare physician claims for the first 10 business days of
July. The announcement came after the Senate failed to approve legislation
(H.R. 6331) preventing the reimbursement cut from taking effect.