House Approves Wildfire Tax-Relief Bill; Senate Fails to Advance Immigration Measure
May 23, 2024
Ahead of a one-week break for the Memorial Day holiday, the House approved legislation (H.R. 5863) that would provide tax relief to victims of a qualified wildfire or hurricane, as well as losses resulting from the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment. If signed into law, H.R. 5863 would exempt qualified wildfire victims in California, including PG&E fire victims, from having to pay federal income tax on their settlement money. It should be noted that the measure was originally included as part of a larger tax package that has been stalled since January.
Across Capitol Hill, the Senate failed to advance a border security and immigration package (S. 4361) earlier today. The measure, which Democratic leaders did not expect to pass, mirrors the bipartisan compromise that collapsed earlier this year. Pursuant to the legislation, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would be required to close the border to illegal crossings if the daily average of encounters surpasses 5,000 migrants, or if a one-day total surpasses 8,500. However, DHS would have the authority to shut down the border at 4,000 encounters per day. Once the mandatory shutdown is enforced, it would require two weeks of significantly lower illegal crossings in order to reopen the border to crossings, other than asylum appointments, at ports of entry. Notably, the package does not include provisions that would provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and other undocumented individuals.
It should be noted that a handful of Democrats, including Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), have expressed concern that the policy changes in the Senate measure are too extreme. Republicans, on the other hand, have stated their belief that the reforms do not go far enough and have criticized the floor vote as a purely political move meant to provide an election-year boost to vulnerable Democrats.
House Ag Committee Set to Advance GOP Farm Bill Reauthorization Package
At press time, the House Agriculture Committee was in the midst of considering a $1.5 trillion Farm Bill reauthorization package – the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024. The legislation, which totals 942 pages and is still in draft form, would fund programs across 12 separate titles for a period of five years. Among other things, the measure would significantly boost farm safety-net programs, including crop insurance and reference prices for row crops. It also would increase funding for specialty crop programs, expand access to programs that lower energy costs for farmers and rural small businesses, and improve tracking of farmland purchases by entities from foreign nations.
Of particular interest to California’s forested counties, the bill would reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (SRS) through 2026. The program, which is currently expired, aids forest communities that have historically relied on federal timber sales. Earlier this year, the U.S. Forest Service distributed over $33 million in SRS funding to 28 California counties. With regard to forest management, the legislation would expand three existing categorical exclusions (CE) – those covering insect and disease, wildfire resilience, and fuel breaks – from 3,000 to 10,000 acres. The bill also establishes a new CE for high priority hazard tree activities. In addition, the measure would expand access to federal wildfire mitigation grants by updating the definition of an “at-risk community” under the Healthy Forests Restoration Act. The current definition limits eligibility to communities adjacent to federal lands or those identified in a Federal Register notice dating back to 2001.
It should be noted that the Republican-authored bill faces stiff opposition from Democrats and the Biden administration due to proposed cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Specifically, the draft bill would limit future updates to the Thrifty Food Plan, which provides the basis for calculating nutrition benefits. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the policy change could reduce SNAP by roughly $30 billion over the next decade.
In addition to the nutrition title, Democrats are opposed to GOP proposals that would remove safeguards that limit Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding for climate-smart agriculture projects. House Republicans want to repurpose those dollars for non-climate uses. For their part, Democrats are expected to propose amendments to strip the partisan nutrition and climate provisions from the bill.
While the legislation is expected to be approved by the House Agriculture Committee later today, it remains unclear if GOP leaders will have sufficient votes to pass the measure on the floor. In light of these and other policy differences, lawmakers are increasingly pessimistic about completing action on the Farm Bill rewrite before the law expires in September.
Legislation Introduced to Improve Access to Outdoor Recreation
Senators John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and Steve Daines (R-MT) recently introduced bipartisan legislation – the More Parking, More Hiking Act (S. 4362) – that is designed to improve access to outdoor recreation by increasing parking options and public transportation. Specifically, the bill would direct the secretaries of USDA and Interior to develop partnerships with local and state governments, as well as private-sector companies, to find innovative solutions to increase access to federal lands. Proposed solutions include leasing non-federal lands for parking space and partnering with state and local governments on public transportation options to help people reach recreation areas. The legislation also proposes the use of new technologies, including trailhead cameras and data collection, to inform hikers about parking availability at trailheads.
CA Congressman Proposes Legislation to Boost the COPS Hiring Grant Program
In honor of National Police Week, Representatives Salud Carbajal (D-CA) and Don Bacon (R-NE) recently introduced bipartisan legislation (H.R. 8420) that would double the amount of federal grant funding available for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program. The program provides funding to local law enforcement agencies to hire and/or rehire additional career law enforcement officers in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. The measure also would establish a new vetting requirement for officers hired using the supplemental funding provided in the bill, creating the first-ever statutory requirement for background checks and mental health evaluations. Currently, federal law does not require agencies to perform background checks on new recruits through the COPS Hiring Program.