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LDA News from Washington
July 2004
CONGRESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
SCHEDULE
Congress returns from its Independence Day recess on July 6 and leaves for its summer work period on July 26, not to return until September 3. Targeted adjournment date is October 1. It is not clear what legislation, if any, will be passed in that time. Obviously, there is very little time left for bills to be passed. To date, there has been no talk of a Lame Duck session following the elections. Any legislation not passed into law must be reintroduced in the 109th Congress.
BUDGET
On June 24, the House of Representatives rejected Budget Chairman Jim Nussle’s Spending Control Act (HR 4663) by a vote of 146-268. This bill would have imposed a two-year cap on discretionary funding and would have required offsets for mandatory funding. Amendments to impose one-year spending and entitlement caps; to convert the annual budget resolution into a joint budget resolution signed by the President and having the force of law; and to allow for a continuing resolution to take effect automatically if appropriators did not complete bills by the start of the fiscal year on October 1, also failed.
APPROPRIATIONS
The fiscal year ends September 30. If Congress has not passed the 13 Appropriations Bills to fund the federal government, it will have to pass a Continuing Resolution to maintain funding at the 2003-04 levels. The House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee plans to mark up their bill on July 7. A freestanding resolution (H Res 685) by Ranking House Member David Obey to add $14.2 billion (including $1.2 billion to IDEA) to the discretionary spending limit of $821.4 billion failed by a vote of 184-230. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens cancelled all markups of fiscal 2005 spending bills until
Democrats agree to accept time limits later on floor consideration of the unwritten bills. Democrats said it would be unprecedented to agree to limits on bills that lawmakers have not even seen. Republicans fear Democrats would offer numerous floor amendments to add money to popular programs. Democrats suspect Republicans are stalling until September, when they might try to add all of the unfinished bills to the Homeland Security measure, cutting off opportunities for amendments
Because they feel that they have not had the opportunity to meaningfully participate in negotiations leading to conference agreements, Democrats in the Senate are refusing to name Conferees until they have written pre-conference agreement. As a result, no conferees have been named for a number of bills of concern to LDA, including IDEA
A breakdown of the proposed IDEA changes appears separately as LDA News from Washington IDEA Supplement, July 2004, on this website.
THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT
The House conferees are John Boehner (R-OH), Chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-CA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness Thomas Petri (R-WI), Vice Chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce Michael Castle (R-DE), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Jon Porter (R-NV), Dale Kildee (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness John Tierney (D-MA), Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), and Betty McCullum (D-MN). Senate conferees have not yet been named.
THE FAMILY OPPORTUNITY ACT (FAO) (The Dylan Lee James Act)
This FAO bill (HR 1811, S 622) -- which amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give states the option of allowing families of high cost disabled children to purchase Medicaid coverage for them -- is hung up because the Administration and the House insist that the cost of the legislation be taken from Medicaid funding for Targeted Case Management.
BILLS PASSED ONE HOUSE
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) (HR 4) was passed by the House in February 2003. The Senate is still debating minimum wage and child care funding. Because the law was due to expire on June 30, both the House and the Senate passed legislation to extend the current TANF for another 3 months.
Improving Access to Assistive Technology for Individuals with Disabilities Act Of 2004 (HR 4278) was passed by the House on June 14. On June 24, Senators Gregg and Harkin introduced a similar bill (S 2595). The bills provide state grants to purchase assistive technology devices and services; requires states to focus on the assistive technology needs of individuals with disabilities; and encourages states to invest in programs that have been shown most effective in providing assistive technology devices.
MENTAL HEALTH BILLS ON THE FAST TRACK?
The Campus Care and Counseling Act (HR 3593, Davis, D-IL; Osborne R-NE; S 2215, Reed, D-RI; DeWine, R-OH; Clinton, D-NY) amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to make competitive grants to campus mental and behavioral health service centers.
Youth Suicide Early Intervention and Prevention Expansion Act of 2004 (HR 4557, Gordon D-TN; S 2175, Dodd D-CT; DeWine, R-OH; Smith Gordon, R-OR; Reid, D-NV) amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants or cooperative agreements to eligible entities that:
(1) develop and implement statewide youth suicide early intervention and prevention strategies in schools, educational institutions, juvenile justice systems, substance abuse programs, mental health programs, foster care systems, and other child and youth support organizations;
(2) collect and analyze data on statewide youth suicide early intervention and prevention services to monitor the effectiveness of such services and for research, technical assistance, and policy development; and
(3) assist States in achieving their targets for youth suicide reductions.
NEW BILLS
On March 30, the Toxic Flame Retardant Prohibition Act (HR 4076) was introduced in the House. The bill would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to prohibit the manufacture, processing, or distribution in commerce of a product, or a flame-retarded part of a product, containing more than one percent of pentabrominated diphenyl ethers (“PBDEs”) or octabrominated diphenyl ethers by mass. Flame retardants have been linked to brain and nerve damage in animals. The chemicals bio-accumulate in the environment, working their way up the food chain into human blood and breast milk.
On June 3, the Education Reform Subcommittee of the House Education and the Workforce introduced HR 4496, the Vocational and Technical Education for the Future Act to reauthorize the Carl Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998. While some provisions are of concern, the bill maintains much of and includes some improvements to current law. The emphasis is on "rigorous and challenging; academic and technical education." A hearing on the bill was held on June 15.
On June 17, Representative George Miller and Senator Edward Kennedy introduced identical legislation, No Child Left Behind Fairness Act (HR 4605, S 2542) which would let schools retroactively implement the Department of Education's new guidelines for determining Adequate Yearly Progress.
On June 23, Representative Portman introduced the bipartisan Second Chance Act of 2004: Community Safety Through Recidivism Prevention (HR 4676), which would reauthorize a grant program for the reentry of offenders into the community.
On June 25, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed a weakened Lead-Free Drinking Water Act of 2004 (S 2377). Instead of the original proposal -- which would have required broad public notice if contamination is found; reduced the amount of lead allowed in plumbing fixtures; mandated tests in schools and given money to cities to replace lead service lines -- the bill would make a grant to the National Academy of Sciences to study how extensive the problem of lead in water is across the country.
HR 4776, a bill to amend the Safe and Drug Free Schools Act to address the bullying problem in schools, was just introduced by Rep. Shimkus (R-IL).
Easter Seals is conducting a campaign, "Full Participation for All," designed to improve access to employment, health care, housing, transportation, education and exercise of voting rights for individuals with disabilities. The main thrust of the campaign is the circulation of a petition that will be delivered to policy makers at all levels of federal, state and local government in order to drive awareness of the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities. A copy of the petition can be found on the Easter Seals web page www.easterseals.com. The petition asks that policy makers lead efforts to:
- Employ people with disabilities and help build a stronger economy with more contributing taxpayers, an increased consumer base, and an expanded diverse workforce.
- Ensure that people with disabilities get the health care they need to lead full and more productive lives.
- Create affordable housing options and accessible transportation services to allow people with disabilities to live in and be more active in their communities.
- Guarantee access to high quality educational services - including early intervention and preschool programs for children with disabilities - to invest in America's future.
- Make all polling places accessible so people with disabilities can vote.
LDA News from Washington is a monthly publication of the Learning Disabilities Association of America. Written by Justine Maloney; Jane Browning, Editor. Paper copies by mail are available free to members upon request. Call 1-888-300-6710 or email info@ldaamerica.org
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© 2004 LDA of America