The road, winding, long
The window, short, uncertain
The job? All you can
Our newsletter will not publish next week. We wish you a safe Thanksgiving holiday. For breaking news, please follow us on Twitter @DukeGovRel.
We’ll be back the week of November 30.
Federal Updates
Lame duck finds policymakers short on time, patience
It’s happened to all of us at some point. There are things we need to do but instead put off for any number of reasons until we’re staring a hard deadline in the face. No matter what happens from there, we often find ourselves in hindsight thinking that perhaps we should have paced our efforts just a little better. Such procrastination is not all that unusual for Congress, but in an uncommon year faced with many challenges, the hard deadline of turning the page to a new session and Administration has an even more imposing presence.
With the House and Senate both out next week for the Thanksgiving holiday, there are realistically between 10-18 days on the legislative calendar left in 2020 to take care of a number of priorities, and current pacing has become a liability.
FY 2021 funding: an ode to Robert Frost
Two potential paths for Congressional negotiations on FY 2021 federal discretionary spending have emerged this week, and the question of whether leaders will take the road less traveled to a more expansive solution by the end of the year is growing murkier by the day.
House and Senate appropriators are working to finalize top-line spending numbers for the 12 annual appropriations bills in order set program-level funding for what is hoped to be a broad omnibus spending package that keeps the government funded for the remainder of the fiscal year. Yet, potential complications remain with respect to key policy issues, including priorities for the Trump administration, which may impede progress.
The current continuing resolution (CR), which is funding the federal government at FY 2020 levels, expires on December 11. Absent any agreement reached soon after the Thanksgiving holidays, another short term CR, either for a few days or perhaps even into next year, will likely be considered to avoid a government shutdown and allow for more time for negotiations.
Duke Health Government Relations will continue to advocate for FY 2021 priorities, including federal funding for biomedical research, until a final deal is reached.
Give me the keys: Democratic and Republican leaders seek leverage on COVID-19 relief
Leadership in both chambers of Congress and the White House have expressed interest in moving another round of COVID-19 relief and stimulus by the end of the year, but formal talks have not resumed since Congress reconvened following the elections. Reportedly, staff-level discussions may begin as soon as next week, but there is a lot of uncertainty about what comes next.
Even as Democratic and Republican leaders make the public case for more relief, significant differences on the scope of a final legislative deal will have to be bridged on issues ranging from testing and funding for state and local governments to liability protections and assistance for businesses. The question of cost of a relief bill has also been a sticking point, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) holding firm on his preference for an agreement in the $500 billion range, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has maintained that any deal should include no less than $2.2 trillion in stimulus spending and relief.
In place of a larger deal, which may get pushed to early 2021 with a new Congress and Administration, there has been some discussion of including a smaller package of COVID-related emergency funding to a prospective FY 2021 spending omnibus bill.
Now for a segue (or transition)
Although formal transition processes have been delayed, President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have announced transition teams to prepare for the work ahead post-inauguration. In recent days, Biden has announced key staff appointments, including Ronald Klain and Jennifer O’Malley Dillion as Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff, respectively, as well as Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) as the incoming Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.
The Biden-Harris COVID-19 Task Force is also continuing to meet and advise the President-elect and Vice President-elect on trends and response plans as the public-health emergency continues. The Trump administration’s COVID-19 Task Force held a public briefing Monday to discuss the increasing prevalence of cases in communities across the country.
In its return this week, the House began preparations for the 117th Congress, wrapping up new member orientation and holding internal leadership elections. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced her next term as Speaker will be her last, while current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is poised to continue his post as Republican leader.
Conferees, including Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), have also been named by House and Senate leaders to reach a final agreement on the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Among other provisions, the NDAA authorizes the Department of Defense Medical Research programs. Leadership is confident a deal will be reached by the end of the year.
House clears bipartisan healthcare legislation
This week has not been all about transition in the House, as attention was also focused on the passage of ten bipartisan healthcare bills. These pieces of legislation would provide support for key issues such as substance abuse programs and violence intervention and prevention.
Among the House approved bills include the Easy Medication Access and Treatment for Opioid Addiction Act (H.R. 2218), which would revise regulations to permit a practitioner to dispense up to a three-day supply of medication-assisted treatment. In addition, the Bipartisan Solution to Cyclical Violence Act of 2020 (H.R. 5855) would create a new grant program, available to both non-profit entities and trauma centers, at the Department of Health and Human Services to help “establish or expand” violence intervention and prevention programs designed to reduce incidences of reinjury and reincarceration.
In a statement, House Energy and Commerce Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Health Subcommittee Chair Anna Eshoo (D-CA) praised the bipartisan effort of their colleagues and urged that these bills receive consideration in the Senate. If the Senate does not act by the end of the year, each piece of legislation will have to be reintroduced in the 117th Congress.
Federal court again rules against Trump administration on DACA; immigration policy battles remain at the forefront
A federal district court judge in New York has ruled that Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Chad Wolf lacked the authority to limit the work permits of hundreds of thousands of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) registrants because his appointment to the top position in the department did not appear to be lawful. However, the practical effect of the decision is not immediately clear because it did not explicitly order DHS to restore the original version of DACA and instead asked both parties to schedule a conference on the matter.
A federal judge in Maryland previously issued a ruling in July ordering the Trump Administration to fully reinstate DACA as a result of the Supreme Court decision in June invalidating attempts to wind down the program. An appeal on the latest case is expected.
Lawsuits are also pending in federal district court in hopes to block enforcement of DHS and Department of Labor (DOL) interim final rules that would make changes to the qualifying criteria and prevailing wage determinations for highly-skilled H-1B visa applicants. The university and business communities have joined forces in support of these legal efforts. Preliminary decisions are expected soon.
President-elect Biden has made it clear that he plans to roll back as many of the Trump administration’s immigration actions as possible through executive orders, including reinstatement of the DACA program and rescinding the so-called “Muslim ban.” However, immigration policies adopted through rulemaking and not declared invalid by the courts will likely take much longer to examine and reverse.
Duke Health Government Relations is working with our colleagues on the campus-side government relations team and leadership in opposition to immigration policies that could negatively impact our students and workforce. We will continue to communicate our concerns with the North Carolina congressional delegation and monitor this issue closely.