Update from Washington, D.C. 04/12/2013
Washington, D.C. was buzzing with activity the week of April 8 as
members of Congress tackled a number of thorny issues and the
Obama administration released its long-overdue fiscal year 2014
budget proposal. In the upper chamber, two high-profile items -
gun control legislation and immigration reform – took center
stage as various factions of senators worked to hammer out deals
on what have typically been among the most divisive issues on
Capitol Hill.
On the issue of gun control, key senators announced mid-week that
they had developed compromise proposals on background checks and
gun trafficking, two of the major sticking points in the larger
debate. Legislation curbing gun violence has been a top priority
for President Obama in the aftermath of last year’s school
shooting in Connecticut.
With regard to background checks, Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and
Patrick Toomey (R-PA) reached a bipartisan accord that would
require screenings on all commercial gun sales. The proposal
stops short of a requirement included in the underlying Senate
gun-control bill (S 649), which would mandate background checks
for nearly all firearms sales, both private and commercial.
Toomey’s endorsement of the compromise plan could attract
much-needed GOP support and increase chances that a final bill
will advance in the Senate.
The background check agreement appears to have provided new
momentum for the gun-control legislation, despite doubts raised
by Republicans as to whether the bill would violate an
individual’s Second Amendment rights. On Thursday, the Senate
agreed by voice vote to proceed to S 649, paving the way for the
chamber to consider amendments to the bill beginning next
week.
With regard to immigration, a bipartisan group of senators
working on a comprehensive reform package continued this past
week to forge the details of a measure that would enhance border
security, provide a pathway to citizenship for people who are
here illegally, and create an employee verification system.
According to several members of the group, which is known as the
“Gang of Eight,” the senators are very close to unveiling their
long-awaited legislation; the complexity of the issues, however,
have bogged down the process of drafting the bill.
Nevertheless, a hearing on the yet-to-be-introduced measure is
scheduled for April 17 in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
According to the committee’s chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy
(D-VT), a May 6 markup on the bill remains a “realistic”
expectation.
State Criminal Alien Assistance Program
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) recently posted its fiscal
year 2013 State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP)
application guidelines. In a positive development for
California’s counties, the agency has indicated that it will
continue to provide reimbursement to jurisdictions for the
“unknown” category of SCAAP inmates in fiscal year 2013.
BJA’s decision to provide SCAAP payments for the costs of
detaining an individual whose immigration status is unable to be
confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was
unexpected. Last year, after CSAC lobbied heavily to prevent the
aforementioned policy from being instituted in fiscal year 2012,
BJA indicated that it was postponing the change, but only for one
year. A number of key members of the California congressional
delegation joined CSAC in advocating against the agency’s
ill-advised policy.
If DOJ’s policy had been implemented in fiscal year 2012,
California’s counties likely would have seen their SCAAP payments
cut in half. Conversely, the state of California and most other
states would have seen their SCAAP allocations significantly
increase under the proposed policy shift. The reason for the
state-county discrepancy is that states house a much lower
percentage of unknown inmates in their correctional facilities in
relation to county jails.
Like last year, BJA is encouraging SCAAP grantees to work
collaboratively with DHS in several program areas in order to
increase their inmate status verifications. Specifically, the
agency is suggesting that jurisdictions work with DHS through the
Secure Communities program, the 287(g) program, and with the Law
Enforcement Support Center (LESC).
It should be noted that nearly all jurisdictions nationwide
already participate in the Secure Communities program, with a
number of others, including several counties in California,
actively participating in the 287(g) program. Many jurisdictions
also actively engage with the LESC, which is administered through
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Incidentally,
participation in these programs has been shown to be of limited
value as it pertains to detainee identification since an inmate’s
status can only be verified if he or she has had previous contact
with federal immigration authorities and is included in the DHS
and Secure Communities databases.
To view BJA’s announcement regarding the opening of the fiscal
year 2013 SCAAP application cycle, please click on the following
link: BJA FY13
SCAAP Application.
Secure Rural Schools (SRS)
On April 3, House Natural Resources (NRC) Chairman Doc Hastings
(R-WA) unveiled a draft SRS reauthorization proposal – Restoring
Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act. Among other things,
the draft measure would require that the U.S. Forest Service
actively manage its commercial timber lands to produce revenues.
Furthermore, it would require the Forest Service to produce at
least half of the sustainable yield of timber each year and share
25 percent of receipts with the counties. It should be noted that
the draft includes a placeholder for an extension of SRS
payments, which would allow counties to transition back to
payments from active forest management.
The NRC’s Subcommittee on Public Lands held a legislative hearing
on April 11 to consider Chairman Hastings draft bill, as well as
a number of other public lands measures. Notably, Trinity County
Supervisor Judy Morris was among those called to testify.
President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2014 Budget
On April 10, President Obama released his $3.77 trillion budget
proposal for fiscal year 2014. Under the administration’s
proposal, the nation’s deficit would drop to $744 billion
beginning next fiscal year, or 4.4 percent of GDP, and continue a
steady downward decline through the budget’s 10-year timeframe.
The debt, on the other hand, would rise $8.1 trillion to $25.3
trillion over the next decade.
The budget also proposes to repeal sequestration and to replace
the automatic, across-the-board spending cuts with other
deficit-reduction measures, including spending cuts to
entitlement programs and new tax increases. For example, the
budget would reduce agriculture subsidies and shrink payments to
certain Social Security beneficiaries by using a less generous
measure of inflation to calculate cost-of-living increases. The
budget also proposes billions in savings from Medicare and other
health programs, in part by raising Medicare premiums for wealthy
retirees and by negotiating for lower prescription drug prices.
On the revenue side, the budget would require those making $1
million or more annually to pay at least 30 percent of their
income in taxes, after gifts to charity.
The Obama budget also includes a variety of new spending
initiatives, including new investments in transportation projects
and education programs. For example, the budget again proposes
new stimulus-style infrastructure spending, to the tune of $50
billion in fiscal year 2014 for roads, bridges, and transit
systems.
All told, the budget would increase spending in fiscal year 2014
by nearly $160 billion beyond what the Congressional Budget
Office projected earlier this year. The increase is attributed to
the budget’s new spending, as well as the cancellation of the
sequester.
Incidentally, the administration’s budget is roughly two-months
behind schedule due to sequestration and the recent fiscal cliff
debate. As a result, the document has not been considered in the
context of the development of the House and Senate’s fiscal year
2014 budget resolutions (H Con Res 25/S Con Res 8), which have
already approved by their respective chambers. Nevertheless, a
number of committees in both the House and Senate will hold
hearings to scrutinize various aspects of the White House’s
budget.
Below is a summary of some of the key policy and spending
initiatives included in the Obama administration’s budget
proposal.
Secure Rural Schools
The president’s budget proposes a five-year reauthorization of
the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program with funding through
mandatory appropriations, beginning with $278 million in fiscal
year 2014.
State Criminal Alien Assistance Program
The president’s budget does not include funding for SCAAP. Last
year, the administration proposed $70 million for the program. It
should be noted that Congress appropriated over $250 million for
SCAAP in fiscal year 2013, which does not account for the
yet-to-be-applied five percent cut under sequestration.
Indian Affairs
The White House budget once again includes language that would
overturn the Supreme Courts’ Carcieri v. Salazar decision. In
Carcieri, the Court ruled that the secretary of the Interior’s
trust land acquisition authority is limited to those tribes that
were under federal jurisdiction at the time of the passage of the
Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934. The president’s budget
does not propose any reforms to the Bureau of Indian Affairs’
land-into-trust process.
The budget for the Department of Interior also indicates that
Indian Affairs is taking a wholesale look at current regulations
that address how Indian groups apply for and receive Federal
recognition as an Indian Tribe. According to the budget, Indian
Affairs expects to distribute a draft for review by Tribes, as
well as non-federally recognized Indian groups, with the goal of
publish¬ing a proposed rule by the end of 2014. The revisions
will address both the application process and the criteria for
Federal recognition.
Affordable Care Act Implementation
The budget does not include cuts to the Medicaid program. Of
interest to several counties, pending cuts to the
Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program would be delayed
for one year.
Tax Exempt Status of Municipal Bonds
The administration is proposing to cap the value of the tax
exemption for interest paid by municipal bonds. Under the budget,
the value of tax benefits would be limited for the top two
percent of earners to 28 percent from the current 35 percent.
This is the third time that the Obama administration has
suggested capping the value of the tax exemption for high-income
earners. The independent, bipartisan tax-reform group known as
Bowles-Simpson also proposed limiting the tax break.
Transportation
The White House has proposed $50 billion in new stimulus funding
for transportation programs in fiscal 2014. Of this one-time
funding, which also was proposed in fiscal year 2013 but not
agreed to by Congress, $40 billion would be reserved for
“fix-it-first” projects intended to bring the nation’s roads,
bridges, and transit systems into a state of good repair. The
remaining $10 billion would be available to local governments and
communities on a competitive basis through programs like the
Department of Transportation’s TIGER grants.
The administration also is proposing an expanded transportation
trust fund. Under the budget, the White House is requesting that
Congress transfer $214 billion in general fund tax revenue over
six years to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to support the
administration’s plans to develop a high-speed rail network.
Under the proposal, general fund dollars would supplement fuels
taxes and other user fees in order to pay for the president’s
five-year, $40 billion rail plan. The budget would fully fund
last year’s transportation bill (MAP-21), which will deplete
existing HTF revenues by the time the law expires next year.
According to the White House, the additional $214 billion in
general fund revenue would be offset by the declining costs of
military operations overseas.
To view the Administration’s proposed fiscal year 2014 funding
levels, click here.