» 2011 Partnership with NAACP's Legal Defense Fund- Redistricting & Voting Fairness
Redistricting is now well underway in a number of states including Mississippi, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Virginia, which are the first states with deadlines to have maps completed in the next few months. Census data reveals that the following states have the largest shares of African Americans: Mississippi (38%), Louisiana (33%), Georgia (31%), Maryland (31%), South Carolina (29%) and Alabama (27%). Blacks also represent 55% of the population in the District of Columbia. Close analysis of census data will be necessary to help determine whether new majority-minority districts can be created to provide minority voters equal access to the political process in those areas that have experienced significant minority population growth over the past decade.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released Guidance to help facilitate compliance with the Section 5 preclearance provision of the Voting Rights Act. That Guidance can be accessed at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/sec_5/sec5guidance2011.pdf. Officials in some states have indicated that they may bypass the administrative preclearance process through the DOJ and instead seek preclearance of maps in the D.C. District Court. DOJ's administrative preclearance process, however, is both faster (review must completed within 60 days) and cheaper, and the preferred route for the vast majority of Section 5 covered jurisdictions.
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund is currently defending Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act against a constitutional challenge in an important case: Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder. More information about the case can be found at http://naacpldf.org/case/shelby-county-alabama-v-holder Despite the pending challenge, it is important that officials in Section 5-covered jurisdictions continue to comply with the requirements of Section 5, as the law remains in full force and effect.
» Business, Financial Services, & Insurance
The House of Representatives voted 314 to 112 to repeal a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that requires all businesses to fill out a 1099 form if payments to any vendor total $600 or more. The 1099 tax form requirement was originally an effort to assist the IRS in reducing underreporting (the gap between taxes owed and taxes paid voluntarily) and was scheduled to go into effect in 2012. Lawmakers believed the revenue generated would help pay for PPACA. However, lawmakers have since agreed that the reporting requirement would cause a significant burden that would be especially onerous for small businesses and physicians whose time would be better spent on patients than paperwork. The measure has already been approved by the Senate (S. 223 related to the Federal Aviation Administration was unrelated to 1099 reporting but included a provision to repeal the new 1099 reporting requirement). Both the House and Senate have opposing views on how to now make up for the $19 billion the provision was projected to generate over the next 10 years. The Senate proposed that the Office of Management and Budget redirect any leftover money in the overall federal budget to the PPACA while the House proposed a repayment of health insurance subsidies for families whose income exceeds certain thresholds. House Republicans argue that their plan would reduce the deficit by $166 million over the next decade while Democrats have countered that it would increase the burden on the middle class. They will have to come to an agreement before the bill can go to President Obama for his signature. The President has stated that he supports the repeal of the 1099 form tax provision.
» Emergency Preparedness and Homeland Security
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office (ICE) have established a joint task force, "Operation Protect Our Children," to target internet-based child pornography. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano recently announced the execution of seizure warrants against 10 domain names of websites engaged in the advertisement and distribution of child pornography. More specifically, the taskforce includes ICE's Cyber Crime Center and two offices within the DOJ- the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.
» Energy, Transportation, and Environment
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Act (S. 223) was passed by the Senate on February 17th. The bill aims to modernize and improve safety in air travel. The bill allows for the integration of new technologies to improve efficiency and safety, and establishes a pilot program in up to three states for an Airport Improvement Program State Block Grant. This pilot program could lead to the creation of a regular block grant so all states could receive dedicated funding at some point. Further, the bill seeks to make it easier for smaller communities to attract air service. Included in the bill is language that would raise the federal share of certain small airport improvements up to 95%.
» Labor, Military, and Veterans Affairs
The Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a wide range of new services to support certain caregivers of eligible post- 9/11 veterans. The VA is launching its first series of new services supporting family caregivers of seriously ill and injured Veterans. The VA's press release noted that while some benefits were immediately available, other newly-enacted benefits would yet require extensive writing of regulations before rolling out. The press release did not specify which benefits were available now versus later, but did indicate that its website, http://www.caregiver.va.gov/, would publish the regulations once written.
For the first time, the VA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published an analysis of the extent and nature of homelessness among veterans. According to their assessment, nearly 76,000 veterans were homeless on any given night in 2009 while roughly 136,000 veterans spent at least one night in a shelter during that year.
The New Jobs for America Act of 2011 (H.R. 72), introduced by CBC member Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee (TX), was referred to committee in January. This month, members of the House's Education and Workforce Committee spoke on the floor of the House in support of H.R. 72, a resolution that instructs various committees to investigate existing, pending, and proposed regulations that hurt job creation and economic growth.
New Department of Labor (DOL) Grants
The DOL is accepting applications for several competitive grants it has posted on its website ranging from green jobs training to the re-integration of ex-offenders. Please click here for the full listing!
» Education
The U.S. House voted 235 to 189 to approve a bill with deep cuts to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs and student aid. The Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act (H.R. 1) would cut the maximum Pell Grant by 15 percent and eliminate dozens of education programs. It would also reduce spending on the National Institutes of Health to 2008 levels and set the National Science Foundation's budget $150 million below its 2010 level. The bill heads to the Senate in March.
The Obama Administration eliminated more than $170 million in annual federal funding targeted toward abstinence programs in schools after a series of reports concluded that the approach was ineffective. Instead, the White House is launching a $114 million pregnancy prevention initiative that will only fund programs that have been shown scientifically to work.
U.S. Department of Education (DOE) awarded eight states (Alaska, Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia) funding through the School Improvement Grants (SIG) to turn around their persistently lowest achieving schools.
DOE Secretary Arne Duncan appointed 28 education advocates, civil rights leaders, scholars, lawyers, and corporate leaders to its Equity and Excellence Commission. The Commission will examine disparities in meaningful educational opportunities that give rise to the Achievement Gap, with a focus on systems of finance, and recommend ways in which federal policies could address such disparities.
This month the White House launched its 2011 Race to the Top Commencement Challenge. Students from public high schools are invited to submit applications demonstrating how their school has prepared them for college and a career. The winning school will host President Obama as its 2011 graduation commencement speaker.
» International Affairs
In its FY2011 proposed spending cuts, the House Leadership has targeted two programs managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (the Food for Peace Title II grant program and the McGovern-Dole international food assistance program) totaling an $800 million reduction over 2010. Aid groups and members of the U.S. maritime industry have warned that devastating job losses are imminent, claiming that processing and transporting food aid to other countries provide about 13,000 jobs and the deep-sea freight business reaches more than 97,000 jobs in other areas of the domestic economy. USA Maritime, a maritime industry coalition, stated that, "This proposal amounts to strangulation of one of America's most effective humanitarian and foreign policy programs." According to CQ Weekly, a 2010 study by Cornell University concluded the policy costs U.S. taxpayers 46% above the market cost of ocean freight. Those in support of the cuts also argue that this funding subtracts from resources available to feed hungry children and mothers within the U.S.
» Health and Human Services
Congress introduced legislation to help states secure federal waivers much earlier from the healthcare reform mandate. Section 1332 of the PPACA, "Waiver for State Innovation," currently allows states to waive out of some of the requirement of federal health reform if they meet certain criteria beginning in 2017. The State Leadership in Healthcare Act (H.R. 439) was introduced in Congress recently, which would move the availability of state waivers up to 2014.
In efforts to defund the Affordable Care Act, House Leadership added nine amendments to the Continuing Resolution (CR), including language that would block funding for state-run Healthcare Exchanges. There was also language barring the use of funds to implement the federal mandate and barring any federal funds from being used to pay a federal employee or federal contractor to implement PPACA. One amendment would prohibit the use of the medical loss ratio, which requires insurance companies to spend a certain percentage of their premium revenues on medical care. The Senate is likely to eliminate this language from the CR before it reaches the President's desk.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius just announced $4.3 billion in new funds to help establish and expand community-based alternatives to institutional long term care. The goal is to move Medicaid beneficiaries from institutions back into homes or, at least, communitybased settings.
This month, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force charged 111 defendants in nine cities including doctors, nurses, as well as health care company owners and executives for their alleged participation in Medicaid fraud involving more than $225 million in false billing. The Strike Force is a collaborative effort between the DOJ and DHHS.
The DHHS awarded $241 million through the "Early Innovator" grant program to help states (Kansas, Maryland, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Wisconsin, and a consortium of New England states) design and implement the information technology infrastructure needed to operate Health Insurance Exchanges.
In early February, DHHS proposed new regulation to ensure students enrolled in health insurance coverage through their college/university benefit from consumer protections created by PPACA. Because an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 colleges and universities offer health insurance plans, coverage varies greatly. The proposed regulation defines such plans as "individual health insurance coverage," making them subject to various protection requirements, including no lifetime coverage limits, no arbitrary rescissions of coverage, and no pre-existing condition exclusions for students under 19.
» Housing
The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Shaun Donovan, and the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Craig Fugate, announced a five-month extension of the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP) for over 5,100 surviving families (3,425 from Texas and 1,743 from Louisiana) who were affected, and eventually displaced, by Gulf Coast Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, which struck the region back-to-back in 2008. This rental assistance program will provide these families an extension until September 30, 2011 to find permanent housing solutions.
In February 2010, President Obama's budget requested an additional $66 million to allow HUD to support affected families through disaster vouchers. Families at the end of the program (who meet eligibility requirements) are eligible to transition to HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Program. This program allows families to pay no more than thirty percent (30%) of their income for rent. The Administration has stated that it will continue to work with Congress through the 2011 appropriations process to ensure necessary funding for the remaining families and their search for permanent homes.