CNCounty News

County priorities in balance during lame duck session

Image of shutterstock_389315509_hiTrump.jpg

Federal FY17 budget first order for lame duck session, congressional leadership changes on tap 

With the 2016 general election behind it, Congress will return from recess the week of Nov. 14 for a lame duck session that is expected to adjourn on Dec. 16. With many pundits projecting before Election Day that control of the U.S. Senate as well as the White House could be up for grabs, congressional leaders indicated their plans for the lame duck session would be driven by the outcome of the 2016 elections.  

Now, with Republicans retaining control of both chambers of Congress and with a victory by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, how Congress will proceed with its remaining work is a hotly discussed topic. 

With just a few weeks left in the 114th Congress, members are faced with a long list of unfinished business including the need to pass FY17 funding legislation to avoid a government shutdown when the current Continuing Resolution (CR) expires on Dec. 9.  The lame duck also provides one last opportunity to finalize other outstanding legislative issues such as ongoing negotiations on Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) and comprehensive energy policy legislation.

Congress must pass legislation to avoid a government shutdown

The biggest task for lawmakers this lame duck session is reaching a spending agreement to extend government funding past the expiration of the current CR in early December.  Lawmakers must decide whether to negotiate with the current administration to enact long-term spending legislation to fund the government through FY17, or enact another stopgap spending measure that would allow the time for the presidential transition to occur and negotiate appropriations legislation with the new administration.  

How Congress addresses the challenge of funding the government will have a direct impact on many county priorities that rely on federal discretionary spending, including: substance abuse and mental health block grants, Payments in Lieu of Taxes program and Community Development Block Grants.  Ultimately, Congress must decide whether to negotiate.

The current CR also included several items important to counties, such as $1.1 billion in funding to combat the Zika virus and $7 million to help jumpstart implementation of the Comprehensive Opioid Addiction and Recovery Act. The bill also included $500 million in emergency relief to areas in Louisiana, West Virginia and Maryland hard hit by floods.

Prior to the election, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) both suggested a strategy for funding the government that involved passing a series of smaller funding measures called “mini-buses,” rather than a single, omnibus spending bill incorporating all 12 appropriations bills into a single piece of legislation.  

Smaller “mini-bus” packages favored by the House majority, would allow less controversial bills to be packaged and passed together while spending bills with more controversial provisions would be negotiated and voted on separately.  

Democratic leaders, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), have expressed doubts about the plan to move forward a series of mini-bus appropriations measures while McConnell recently noted his support for a single omnibus appropriations measure to fund the government through the end of the year. 

Congress may also choose to pass another short-term CR, funding the government into the new administration’s term, and allowing them to negotiate a full year funding measure with a Republican president.  

This tack could provide Republican leaders with an opportunity to include policy riders addressing regulations implemented by President Obama in a final appropriations bill, riders that would likely face strong opposition from Obama and congressional Democrats.  

However, delaying passage of a long-term funding measure to 2017 could set up another “fiscal cliff” should negotiations on funding the government run up against the expiration of the federal debt limit in March 2017.  

Uncertainty for House and Senate Leadership Elections

In addition to their legislative work, the House and Senate will also elect new leaders for the 115th Congress during the lame duck session.  McConnell  is expected to remain majority leader in the Senate.  Senate Democrats will have a new leader with current Minority Leader Senator Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) retirement at the end of this Congress.  Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is expected to be the new Democratic leader.

Prior to Election Day, a group of hard-line conservatives, upset at the distance Ryan put between himself and their party’s conservative nominee, had discussed blocking Ryan’s election as speaker in the 115th Congress. On Nov. 7, the House Freedom Caucus, a group of about 40 conservative Republican members, sent a letter to Ryan asking him to delay leadership elections, until after the lame duck session. The delay would not only influence how the party handles year-end legislative business, but could also put pressure on Ryan to give more weight to the Freedom Caucus’ agenda in the high stakes end-of-year legislative negotiations. 

However, following the GOP’s Election Day sweep, the continuation of Ryan’s speakership appears more certain.  

On Nov. 9, Ryan, along with Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), Majority Whip Steve Scalise (La.) and Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) all announced their intentions to run for reelection to their current positions.  The announcement was followed by expressions of support for all four members of the GOP leadership from rank-and-file members across the Conference.  

Members of Congress are currently scheduled to return to Washington on Nov. 14 with the Republican Conference’s leadership elections scheduled for Nov. 15.  Assuming he is reelected Speaker by the Republican Conference, Ryan will also have to receive 218 votes in the House of Representatives to retain the position, a hurdle that is generally considered a formality.  

In addition to congressional leadership positions, there is expected to be some movement at top committee posts due to term-limits and retirements.  

Typically, chairmen and ranking members are nominated by the Republican and Democratic steering committees and approved by the larger party.  

Steering committees are expected to meet in December.  Rank-and-file membership of the various Congressional committees are expected to be announced early in the 115th Congress.

As Congress elects new leaders and congressional committees are reorganized, NACo will provide an analysis of these changes and the potential impact on county governments and their priorities.

Issues NACo is Watching


Although many details of the lame duck session remain fluid, NACo is actively monitoring several issues of importance to counties that could arise during the last days of the Congress.

House and Senate continue to work out policy differences on the Water Resources Development Act

Although the incoming administration may encourage congressional Republicans to hold off on passing substantive policy legislation until President-elect Trump takes office, Congress could decide to continue its work on substantive measures. One candidate for action would be the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).  

Earlier this fall, both the House and the Senate passed WRDA versions and negotiations between the chambers have been ongoing through the recess. 

While both bills reauthorize U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) water resource projects, the Senate bill includes funding for drinking water and wastewater programs. 

Because the House and Senate bills differ, a conference committee was appointed to work out the policy differences between them.  Should the conference committee reach an agreement between the chambers and the Obama administration, Congress may be able to act quickly and pass WRDA. 

Conference committee working to reach consensus on a comprehensive energy bill 

Additionally, NACo has been watching the progress of comprehensive energy and forest management legislation in the House and Senate. (See story, page 4) In the past year both the House and Senate have passed comprehensive energy bills, though their respective bills contain significant differences.  A conference committee began meeting in late-summer to negotiate the differences between the two bills for possible action during the lame duck session.  As with many items pending before the lame duck Congress, congressional leadership may opt to pause work on advancing the legislation until the new administration takes office.  

The Senate’s Energy Policy Modernization Act (S. 2012) focuses heavily on renewable energy deployment, energy efficiency improvements, building code upgrades and electrical grid security. 

The bill also contains a provision to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and other land conservation provisions, which remain controversial among House members from Western states. 

The House’s North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015 (H.R. 8) includes provisions to streamline the permitting process for natural gas pipelines.

Tagging along are related bills or issues that have been incorporated as part of negotiations and which touch several priority issues for counties including the Secure Rural Schools program, forest management reform, wildfire suppression funding, renewable energy development on public lands and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Program.

Possibility to address comprehensive mental health reform

NACo also continues to watch the Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act (S. 993/H.R. 1854), which would reauthorize the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA) and fund local efforts to reduce mental health in the justice system. The legislation has been passed by the Senate and is now under consideration in the House. 

MIOTCRA, which has been a long-standing NACo priority, provides grants that state, tribal and local governments may use to develop and implement a variety of programs designed to improve outcomes for justice-involved individuals. 

Though unlikely, given the outcome of the 2016 elections, Congress may still choose to bring up the Second Chance Reauthorization Act (S. 1513/H.R. 3406), which would reauthorize the Second Chance Act (SCA). The SCA, which received a mark-up in the House Judiciary Committee in January 2016, authorizes federal grants that assist states, counties and nonprofit organizations in developing and implementing programs to help formerly incarcerated individuals successfully reintegrate into the community after their release from correctional facilities. 

Administered through the Office of Justice Programs at the Department of Justice, Second Chance Act programs have helped numerous counties provide reentry services — employment assistance, substance abuse and mental health treatment, housing, family-center programming and mentoring — to adults and juveniles returning to the community from prisons or jails. 

Possible delay of DOL’s final rule on overtime pay

With the Obama Administration on track to advance more than 4,000 new regulations during his last year in office, Congress may also consider advancing legislation that would put the brakes on regulations such as the Department of Labor’s (DOL) final rule on overtime pay during the lame duck session. The final rule would make 4.2 million Americans newly eligible for overtime pay, and nearly doubles the salary threshold for overtime pay for professional employees, also referred to as “white collar” employees from $23,660 ($455 per week) to $47,476 ($913 per week).

On Sept. 28, the House passed the Regulatory Relief for Small Business Schools and Nonprofits Act (H.R. 6094). The bill would delay the enforcement of the DOL overtime rule for six months from Dec. 1 to June 1, 2017. The White House  strongly opposes H.R. 6094, indicating that President Obama would veto the bill if sent to his desk.

In the Senate, James Lankford (R-Okla.) introduced a companion measure, the Overtime Reform and Review Act. This bill would direct the administration to implement the salary threshold increases in four stages over a five-year period to give workplaces time to prepare for the rule implementation. 

One possible way the overtime rule could be addressed that would not be affected by the lame duck session is through court intervention.  A group of 21 states has filed a lawsuit in the Eastern U.S. District Court of Texas challenging DOL’s overtime rule. 

The suit alleges DOL overstepped its authority to establish a federal minimum salary for professional employees, and that the new rule will force state and local governments to substantially increase employment costs, ultimately forcing governments to cut services or lay off employees.

The group challenging the rule is led by Texas and Nevada, and includes: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin. 


Chris Marklund, associate legislative director, contributed to this report.

Bike Hero

Attachments

Related News

Closeup of Capitol and flag
Press Release

National Association of Counties Releases Analysis of Government Spending Bill Impacts on Local Government

NACo applauds the inclusion of items in the two “minibus” packages for government spending reflecting support for county priorities.

Image of GettyImages-182666077.jpg
Advocacy

Congressionally Directed Spending for Fiscal Year 2025: How counties can navigate the earmarks process

Congress has begun the Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations cycle. Formal guidance has not been issued by the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees regarding Congressionally Directed Spending. 

Closeup of Capitol and flag
Advocacy

U.S. Congress passes second FY 2024 minibus to complete annual appropriations process

Congress voted to pass its second six-bill minibus package, completing the FY 2024 appropriations process.