The Washington Report.
February 5, 2007
AThe beginning of the new year also ushered in the new 110th Congress in which Democrats took control of both houses of Congress for the first time in twelve years. In addition, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was elected Speaker of the House, the first female speaker in the country’s history. The new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives successfully passed all six bills, as well as internal House rules changes, of its “100 Hour Plan” for the new Congress. Components of the 100 Hour Plan included legislation to lower interest rates on federally-subsidized student loans; direct the federal government to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies with the aim of lowering prescription drug prices; expand federally-sponsored embryonic stem cell research; raise the minimum wage; reverse certain tax breaks instituted in recent years that benefit members of the oil and gas drilling industry; and implement certain recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. The Plan also included internal House rule changes dealing with ethics, lobbying and budgeting;
Lobbying Reform
On January 4 and 5, the first two days of the new 110th Congress, the House passed a series of changes to its internal rules aimed at tightening up ethics and lobbying rules. The new rules would ban lawmakers from accepting almost all meals, gifts and travel from registered lobbyists and other outside groups. If members of Congress do fly on corporate jets in the future, they will now have to pay the full charter rate, rather than a discounted rate that they were able to pay in the past. There are some exceptions to the travel ban that allow lawmakers to accept one-day, one-night trips to participate in a forum or give a speech.
On January 18, the Senate passed legislation by a vote of 96-2 that mirrored many of the internal House reforms passed earlier in the month. One of the provisions in the Senate legislation would require lobbyists to publicly disclose campaign donations they collect from clients and associates and “bundle” into larger donations to politicians. In addition, former lawmakers would now have to wait two years to lobby after they leave office and spouses of members of Congress would no longer be able to lobby the chamber in which their husband or wife is a member unless they had already been lobbying at least one year before their spouse was elected. One provision that was ultimately not included in the bill after it was defeated 55-43 would have required entities to disclose funds spent on grass-roots campaigns that focus on getting voters to contact their member of Congress on a particular issue. In addition, the creation of an independent ethics counsel was defeated by a vote of 71-27.
In a related note, on January 31, Rep. Mike Capuano (D-MA) was appointed by the Speaker as Chairman of the new Special Task Force on Ethics Enforcement. Rep. Martin Meehan (D-MA) is also a member of the Task Force. The bipartisan task force will explore the creation of an outside ethics enforcement entity and will report back to the full House with its findings by May 1.
Budget & Appropriations
On January 5, the House passed changes to its internal budget rules as an effort to combat chronic budget deficits and wasteful spending. On a vote of 280-154, the House passed rule changes that would require congressional sponsors of individual spending earmarks to be publicly identified and that would reinstate so-called “pay-as-you-go” rules for mandatory spending that would require all future tax cuts and/or spending increases on entitlement programs to be offset with other tax increases or spending cuts in order to avoid adding to the budget deficit. New discretionary spending would not need to be offset.
On January 31, 57 Republicans joined an almost unanimous block of Democrats in passing a $463.5 billion continuing resolution that will fund a large portion of the federal government for the remainder of FY 2007. Only the FY 2007 Defense and Homeland Security appropriations bills were passed last year, so the resolution covers all federal programs and agencies not covered under those two bills.
Most programs under the bill are funded at or near FY 2006 funding levels. The Council, which weighed in with the New England delegation in support of additional funding for several programs that are particularly important to the New England region, was pleased that extra money was indeed added for a number of those programs. Under the bill, the National Institutes of Health will receive an increase of $619.5 million, the National Science Foundation will receive an additional $335 million, the Department of Energy’s Office of Science will get an extra $200 million, and Community Health Centers will see an increase of $206.9 million, much of that for 300 new or expanded centers but with about $25 million of that allocated to provide additional funding at existing health centers. Also, under the resolution Amtrak will be flat-funded at about $1.3 billion, rather than receiving a substantial cut, and the Federal-aid highway program and federal transit programs are fully funded at the level guaranteed under the SAFETEA-LU transportation authorization bill passed in 2005.
The Senate still needs to consider and vote on its version of a continuing resolution and then any differences between the House and Senate versions would need to be worked out before the continuing resolution that the federal government is currently operating under expires on February 15.
Health
On January 11, as part of the House Democrats’ 100 Hour Plan after assuming the majority, the House passed by a vote of 253-174 legislation that would expand federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research. This marks the second time in as many years that the House has voted to pass this legislation. The President vetoed the same bill last year and this year’s vote falls 37 votes short of what would be needed to override another potential veto this year.
Current federal policy allows federal funding only for research on stem cell lines taken from embryos destroyed before August 9, 2001. The bill passed by the House would allow federal funding for research on cells from any embryo discarded by a fertility clinic, as long as the cells were explicitly donated for research by the embryo’s parents.
On January 12, another plank of the 100 Hour Plan was passed by a vote of 255-170 when the House approved legislation (H.R. 4) requiring the federal government to directly negotiate with pharmaceutical companies with the aim of securing lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries. The President has threatened to veto the legislation, however, and supporters fell 45 votes short of a veto-proof majority. Opponents of the legislation argue that it will have little to no effect on drug costs and may have the effect of restricting access to some drugs and pharmacies.
On January 16, a coalition of technology and healthcare companies including Microsoft, Dell, Wellpoint, and Google announced that they are donating a new free Internet-based e-prescription tool to all U.S. physicians to help prevent medication errors while saving healthcare costs and encouraging greater use of health information technology. The website and tool are offered by the National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative as a way to overcome preventable medication errors caused by the current paper-based prescription system in a cost-effective way that will be easy to access.
On January 17, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in both the House and Senate, including Rep. John Tierney (D-MA), introduced legislation that would authorize federal grants for state and local governments to experiment with different strategies aimed at increasing health insurance coverage. Grant applications would be studied and approved by a bipartisan State Health Innovation Commission. After five years of studying the results of the experimental programs, the Commission would make recommendations to Congress for legislation at the federal level.
On January 18, a large number of disparate groups formed a coalition called the Health Coverage Coalition for the Uninsured (HCCU) which has as its goal to reduce the number of the uninsured. Members of the coalition include the AARP, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Families USA, the Healthcare Leadership Council, Johnson & Johnson, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among others. The first phase of the coalition’s recommendations call for allowing parents to more easily enroll their children in programs such as SCHIP and Medicaid under a “one-stop shopping” system where low-income children could be enrolled in a number of federal programs at the same time. This recommendation could be addressed as early as this Spring when Congress is scheduled to take up SCHIP reauthorization.
he second phase of the group’s recommendations call for a new tax credit that would be available to families with incomes up to three times the federal poverty level that would help them cover some of the cost of private health insurance for their children.
Energy & Environment
On January 18, the House approved legislation by a vote of 264-163 that would remove tax incentives for oil companies and correct deepwater production leases. The Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation (CLEAN) Act would redirect the $14 billion originally saved by the energy producers in tax credits to renewable energy and efficiency programs. The bill would prevent the deduction of any income attributable to domestic production of oil and natural gas, or related products for tax purposes. Also, the legislation would remove incentives for domestic exploration.
In addition, the legislation would require companies with deepwater production leases established in 1998 and 1999 to either renegotiate those leases or pay a fee of $9 per barrel of oil and $1.25 per million BTUs of natural gas in order to receive new leases. The provision is intended to correct the lack of a standard requirement for companies to pay royalties if oil and gas prices reach a certain level in the original leases. The Senate has not yet considered the bill.
Also on January 18, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced her intention to create a Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming to help accomplish her goal of having a bill dealing with these issues ready for consideration this year. Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) would chair the committee that would not have legislative authority, but rather would provide information and recommendations to committees with jurisdiction over these issues areas, and encourage the committees to hold hearing and report out legislation for consideration by the House. The creation of the select committee has no timetable for consideration at this time but will need to be approved by the full body before coming into effect.
In January, several senators introduced bills that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT) and Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) have introduced the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act (S. 309), which sets the goal of reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Senators Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and John McCain (R-AZ) have introduced the Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act (S. 280), which sets targets for emission reduction at 1990 levels by 2020 and at 60 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Also, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) is fine-tuning draft global warming legislation. His package of legislation will most likely include a combination of economy-wide reduction targets, mandatory measures, and incentives for the development and diffusion of cleaner technologies to achieve his greenhouse gas reduction goals.
Education
On January 17, the House voted 356-71 to pass legislation that would cut the interest rate on federally guaranteed student loans from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent by 2011. The bill’s $5.8 billion cost would be covered by cutting subsidies that are given to lenders who offer federal student loans and by increasing the fees that these companies have to pay for each student loan. Today, the typical student who graduates from college owes approximately $13,800 in federal need-based loans. If the bill becomes law, students would save $2,300 over the life of the loan after the first interest rate reduction, and in five years when the rate is 3.4 percent, students would save more than $4,400.
On January 22, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-MA), introduced legislation that would triple the college tuition tax credit. The bill would increase the tax deduction from $4,000 to $12,000 and would increase the maximum Pell Grant award from $4,050 to $5,100. Also, the legislation would forgive borrower debt if the graduate were to work in the public sector for 10 years, and all borrowers would have their debt forgiven after making payments for 25 years. The bill also provides incentives to colleges and other higher education institutions to administer loans to students through the direct lending program instead of through private lenders.
Minimum Wage
On January 10, the House voted 315 -116 to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour over the next two years. If enacted, it would be the first increase in the federal minimum wage in almost 10 years. On February 1, the Senate also passed a minimum wage increase by a vote of 94-3. In order to garner enough support to avoid a filibuster, however, the Senate version also includes about $8.3 billion worth of small business tax breaks over ten years in order to help offset some of the impact of a minimum wage increase on small businesses. The tax breaks, which include accelerated deductions for new purchases and a five-year extension of a credit for employers who hire welfare recipients, are coupled with tax increases of a similar amount on corporations and some of their most highly compensated workers – including a provision that would forbid executives from deferring more than $1 million in pay in a given year and placing that money in a tax-deferred account.
House Democratic leaders, in particular House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY), are opposed to including the tax package with the minimum wage increase. Before a minimum wage increase is enacted, differences between the House and Senate versions will need to be worked out in a conference committee.
Homeland Security
On January 9, the House passed by a vote of 299 to 128 the Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act (H.R. 1), which would implement many of the Commission’s remaining recommendations. The legislation encompasses a wide range of issues, including increasing grants for first responders in higher-risk areas, inspecting 100 percent of cargo transported on passenger aircraft, improving container inspection, establishing a private sector preparedness program, and strengthening the Proliferation Security Initiative. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Chairman Joe Lieberman (D-CT) has held hearings regarding the 9/11 Commission recommendations, and plans to have a companion Senate bill drafted shortly.
Competitiveness
New House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) reintroduced a legislative package that he sponsored in the previous Congress that is aimed at strengthening U.S. competitiveness and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. One of the three bills, the 10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds Science and Math Scholarship Act (H.R. 362), would implement most of the K-12 science education recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences’ (NAS) Rising Above the Gathering Storm report. Some of the bill’s provisions would increase the size and duration of scholarships for STEM majors who pursue teaching credentials; establish an NSF teacher training program; and authorize centers for improving undergraduate STEM education. A second bill, the Sowing the Seeds through Science and Engineering Research Act (H.R. 363), would authorize 10 percent yearly increases in funding for basic research in engineering and the physical and mathematical sciences while also providing early-career grant support for NSF and DOE researchers. Chairman Gordon’s third bill in the legislative package (H.R. 364) would establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E). The creation of this agency, based on another of the Gathering Storm report’s recommendations, would be aimed at reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil through the rapid development of new clean energy solutions.
New Subcommittee Chairs
With the Democrats in the Majority in the 110th Congress, in January several New Englanders were named to chair House Subcommittees. The new subcommittee chairs are:
Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) – Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet
Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) – Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) – Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration
and Related Agencies
Rep. John Olver (D-MA) – Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development,
and Related Agencies
Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) – Rules Subcommittee on Rules and Organization of the House
Rep. Martin Meehan (D-MA) – Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA) – Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight
Rep. John Tierney (D-MA) – Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs
Rep. James Langevin (D-RI) -- Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science & Technology
Rep. Michael Michaud (D-ME) – Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health
Amtrak
On January 16, Senators Lautenberg and Lott reintroduced legislation that would authorize $19.2 billion for Amtrak over six years. The bill also creates a matching funds program to encourage states to increase their financial stake in Amtrak. The $1.4 billion matching program would allow states to use federal funds to support up to 80 percent of the capital improvement costs incurred by Amtrak. The bill also establishes standards that outline general state requirements for covering the operating costs of Amtrak lines. Each deal, however, would be negotiated individually. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. A similar bill passed the Senate in 2005, but was not considered by the House.
UPCOMING NEW ENGLAND COUNCIL EVENTS IN WASHINGTON
New England Congressional Caucus
New Member Welcome Event
February 15, 2007
Meet and hear from the newly-elected New England members
of the U.S. House of Representatives
12 noon – Room H-137, the Capitol
Washington, DC Annual Meeting
March 7 and 8, 2007
Wednesday, March 7th
White House Briefing (Room 450 in the EEOB) - 2:30 p.m.
Capitol Hill Reception (Room G-50 Dirksen Senate Office Building) - 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 8th
Congressional Breakfast (Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, Thornton Room) – 7:45 a.m.
Please call Pauline Nee at the Council for a registration form at 617-723-4009.
Hearings of Interest on the Hill
Please note that times, dates, and locations may change without notice. Call Committee to confirm before attending.
Senate
Committee: Energy & Natural Resources
Topic: Energy Department Budget
Testifying: Secretary of Energy Bodman
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Date: February 7, 2007
Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Committee: Banking
Topic: Home Lending Practices and Foreclosures
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Date: February 7, 2007
Location: 538 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Committee: Commerce
Topic: Climate Change Research Integrity
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Date: February 7, 2007
Location: 253 Russell Senate Office Building
Committee: Finance
Topic: Health and Human Services Budget
Testifying: Secretary of HHS Leavitt
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Date: February 7, 2007
Location: 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Committee: Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Topic: Promoting School Improvement
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Date: February 8, 2007
Location: 216 Hart Senate Office Building
House
Committee: Energy & Commerce
Topic: Health and Human Services Budget
Testifying: Secretary of HHS Leavitt
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Date: February 6, 2007
Location: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building
Committee: Financial Services
Topic: Foreign Investment in the United States
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Date: February 7, 2007
Location: 2128 Rayburn House Office Building
Committee: Energy & Commerce
Topic: Energy Department Budget
Testifying: Secretary of Energy Bodman
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Date: February 8, 2007
Location: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building
Committee: Science and Technology
Topic: Climate Change Science
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Date: February 8, 2007
Location: 2318 Rayburn House Office Building
Committee: Ways and Means
Topic: Health and Human Services Budget
Testifying: Secretary of HHS Leavitt
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Date: February 8, 2007
Location: 1100 Longworth House Office Building
Committee: Oversight and Government Reform
Topic: Pharmaceutical Pricing Waste, Fraud and Abuse
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Date: February 9, 2007
Location: 2154 Rayburn House Office Building
|
