House Focuses on Aid to Israel, FY 2024 Appropriations in Speaker Johnson’s First Full Week
November 2, 2023
In his first full week leading the House of Representatives, newly minted Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is seeking to advance three (of the 12) fiscal year 2024 spending bills, including the Transportation-Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD), Interior-Environment, and Legislative Branch appropriations measures. At press time, it was not clear whether the bills will advance before the chamber adjourns for the week.
In addition to the appropriations legislation, Speaker Johnson unveiled a proposal this week that would send $14.3 billion in military aid to Israel – a request that was included as part of President Biden’s recent supplemental spending request. Among other things, the aid package would provide $4.4 billion for the Pentagon and $3.5 billion for the State Department’s foreign military financing program, which provides funding to help other countries buy weapons and equipment.
In an attempt to offset the cost, the measure would rescind $14.3 billion in funding that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) received from the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169). While the offset is popular among Republicans, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office finds that such a proposal would increase the federal budget deficit by nearly $27 billion due to reduced IRS enforcement. For their part, Democrats have called on their Republican colleagues to move forward without attempting to offset the spending. They are also urging GOP lawmakers to include the White House request for military aid to Ukraine, as well as humanitarian assistance for the situation in Gaza.
Despite the criticism from the left, the measure likely has the necessary support to advance this week, though it will face roadblocks in the Senate. For their part, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are eyeing a larger package that would provide aid to Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, as well as bolster security along the U.S.-Mexico border.
In the meantime, the Senate this week advanced a three-bill spending package, often referred to as a “minibus,” that includes fiscal year 2024 spending for Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development. Despite the modest progress in both chambers, the House and Senate remain far apart on topline spending levels for the fiscal year 2024 budget. With just over two weeks left before the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires, and with little progress to show, lawmakers in both chambers are expressing concern that they are running out of time.
Senator Padilla Introduces Homelessness Legislation
This week, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) reintroduced legislation – the Homelessness and Behavioral Health Care Coordination Act of 2023 (S. 3165) – that would help those experiencing homelessness and behavioral health issues, including substance use disorder, receive coordinated support services. Specifically, S. 3165 would authorize a competitive grant program to better coordinate health and homelessness services. Authorized at $20 million for each of the next five years, the program would provide five-year grants in the amount of $500,000 for a number of activities, including appointing a coordinator to oversee the overlap in services, improving systems infrastructure, improving technologies, helping with Medicaid enrollment, and increasing the availability of naloxone.
Earlier this fall, Senators Padilla and Markey introduced the Housing Alignment and Coordination of Critical and Effective Supportive Health Services (ACCESS) Act (S. 2932), legislation focused on addressing the intersecting crises of homelessness, mental health, and substance use disorder by increasing support for millions of low-income individuals on Medicaid. The bill directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Treasury to issue joint guidance to state Medicaid agencies on how to connect Medicaid beneficiaries to housing-related services.
Biden Administration, Congress Turn Focus to the Property Insurance Market
On November 1, the Treasury Department’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO) announced that it will move ahead with a revised proposal to collect data from property insurers across the country. According to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the resulting data and analyses will help policymakers inform potential approaches to improving insurance availability and affordability for consumers. An initial data call by the FIO in October 2022 was criticized by the industry as overly broad and burdensome. The latest request has been slightly modified based on feedback from insurers and state insurance commissioners. In short, the revised proposal would require some of the nation’s larger and mid-level insurers to submit new zip code-level data about policy premiums, claims, and losses experienced between 2017 and 2022. The proposal still needs to go through a 30-day public comment period before final approval from the Office of Management and Budget. It’s expected to be finalized in the coming months and should go into effect during the first half of 2024.
In addition to the FIO request, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Budget Committee Chair Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent correspondence this week to 40 private insurers operating in California, Louisiana, Florida, and Texas. Among other things, the letters express serious concerns with skyrocketing insurance premiums, property devaluation, and the unavailability of private insurance in some markets. In addition, Wyden and Whitehouse have requested that the companies respond to a series of questions by November 17, including whether they consider climate-driven effects like sea level rise and wildfires when determining their premiums. There are also questions about whether the companies have considered exiting or restricting coverage in certain markets due to the potential for extreme weather events. Additionally, the senators have requested any information regarding climate modeling, forecasts for premium rates, and a list of counties where insurers have declined to renew a minimum amount of policies between since 2018.
Finally, at press time, the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance was meeting to discuss the factors influencing the high cost of insurance for consumers. According to committee staff, the hearing is expected to focus on the status of the domestic insurance market, particularly recent developments that have led to higher costs and lower availability for property and casualty insurance. The topics to be covered will include the overall high cost of insurance, current challenges in individual state markets, and the impact of federal and international regulatory developments. The committee will explore these dynamics and their impact on consumers.